


Angel From My Nightmare

by RisemboolRanger



Category: Vampire Knight
Genre: Action, Dark, F/M, Fantasy, Friendship, Multi, Romance, School
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-12-01
Updated: 2014-03-10
Packaged: 2017-11-20 00:09:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 26,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/579134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RisemboolRanger/pseuds/RisemboolRanger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry's a control freak who lives by order and routine. Her only fear is the unnatural. Breaking her routine to start at a new school is bad enough, but if she discovers the school's secret she'll find herself living amongst the creatures of her nightmares.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hello There

“Make sure you give her clearance at any time,” Satoshi Harima – who frequently encouraged his Night Class students to refer to him more formally as Satti-san – told the guard on duty at the Night Class building. “She has long, wavy, blonde hair, blue eyes, slim, roughly average height... She starts here tomorrow.”

“You still sure this is a good idea?” the guard asked gruffly. Satoshi had explained the situation to him and that he’d already gotten the headmaster’s permission for his daughter’s permanent clearance to all of the school buildings.

“Of course,” Satoshi replied brightly. “She’s a smart girl – she’ll figure out the school’s purpose real quick. She won’t like what she finds, but I’m certain it’ll do her good in the long run.”

“If you say so, Mr. Harima,” said the guard with a shrug. It wasn’t really his business. He was just here to do what he was told.

“Satti-san,” Satoshi prompted.

“No,” the guard replied bluntly. “You’re free to get your pupils to call you whatever you like, but count me out.”

“You’re so boring,” Satoshi pouted. There was a good reason he was such good friends with headmaster Kaien Cross, without even going into their shared past as hunters. They could both be as childish as each other. It was a little embarrassing for two grown men.

“Whatever, sir. Keep your cutesy nicknames with your students, not with me,” muttered the guard. He then added, “I sure hope your daughter’s not like you.”

“Of course she is! She’s sweet and intelligent and very ambitious,” Satoshi gushed, ever the indulging father. He always became starry-eyed when talking about his children.

“Already sounds nothing like you,” said the guard quietly, still muttering more to himself. He then cleared his throat. He knew that it wasn’t his business, but he still had to check one more time. “Do you really think this is for the best? From what you’ve told me, it sounds like you’re throwing your daughter into her idea of hell.”

“And that’s exactly the point,” said Satoshi, more solemnly. “I want to change her idea of hell. I’m sure that once she’s attended Cross Academy, Harry will have a very different opinion of the beings that plague her nightmares.”

**XXX**

Harry was a well-known control freak. She was extremely organised to the point of being obsessive-compulsive and was constantly paranoid over keeping everything perfect that was within her control. She could still cope under pressure, which she often had to do when dealing with her chaotic family, but she much preferred being able to live within routines that she’d built on. 

The only thing she feared was the unknown and the unnatural – anything she didn’t understand; anything she couldn’t control.

But right now, she was feeling nervous. She was starting at her new school today. It wasn’t exactly anything unnatural or uncontrollable, but it definitely meant she’d be breaking away from her usual routines. If she was going to be living somewhere new, she’d have to start a whole series of new routines there too.

“How’s the shoulder?”

Harry looked up at her older brother from the passenger seat, her thoughts interrupted. “Not too bad. At least it won’t be on display or anything.”

She’d never been noticeably strong or fast, so her brother had been teaching her to spar since they were kids. Hideki was good at fighting – so good that he’d been fired consecutively from his last three jobs for having tussles with other employees... and even a customer on one occasion. He was a nice guy, but he had a short temper that he just couldn’t control.

They’d had one of their sparring practices a few nights ago and Harry had banged her shoulder on the corner of the coffee table in the midst of it. It didn’t hurt that much now, but she still had a rather nasty purple bruise, so she was grateful for the white-embossed, black blazer she now had to wear as part of Cross Academy’s school uniform.

“True,” Hideki chuckled. “You don’t want anyone thinking you’re a roughneck.”

Harry snorted. “Definitely not.” That couldn’t be further from the truth.

Hideki smiled sadly. “I’m gonna miss you not being around. I won’t have anyone to practice with.”

“Is that all I’m good for?” Harry teased. “Just practice with one of the others.”

It was Hideki’s turn to snort derisively. “Are you kidding? I’d never get Saki out of her room, for starters. Jo clearly isn’t an option and Kei’s too little. I’d probably break him.”

Harry laughed. “I guess you really do need me. Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll survive.”

“How nice of you.”

Hideki pulled up in front of the school and helped Harry out with her suitcase. She stared up at the intimidating wrought iron gates. She felt her stomach clench – this was it. Hideki gave her a giant hug and told her to be good, which she felt was a bit rich coming from him. Then he got back into the car and, within seconds, he was gone and she was left alone in front of her new school.

“You must be Tamashi Harima.”

Harry glanced round in surprise at hearing her name, seeking out the speaker. She noticed a girl similar to her own age, waiting at the gates. She had short, brown hair and big, matching brown eyes. 

“Please, call me Harima. Or Harry,” Harry said politely. “I don’t really go by Tamashi.”

It was true. From a young age, her best friend had been Tamaki Kotani and there had always been confusions over the similarities between their names. As a solution, people had always referred to them by their family names and Harima had then been shortened to Harry – a nickname that had caught on, even within her own family. She was only ever called Tamashi when she was in trouble, which was rarely, when compared to her siblings.

“Harry then.” The girl gave her a polite smile. “I’m Yuki Cross. The headmaster’s my father. He asked me to show you where your dorm is and give you a quick tour around the academy.”

“Oh,” said Harry, pleasantly surprised. “Thank you. That’s really nice.”

“No problem,” Yuki beamed. “I’m a member of the disciplinary committee, so it’s my duty to help out in any way I can.” She dutifully indicated the band attached to her sleeve.

“Disciplinary committee?” Harry repeated. What kind of school would need a disciplinary committee?

“Oh, we don’t really do any actual disciplining,” Yuki reassured, seeing the look on Harry’s face. “We just help to keep order amongst the students.”

“That sounds good to me,” said Harry, impressed. If there was one thing she could appreciate, it was order.

Yuki smiled again. “I’m glad someone sees it that way. Come on, I’ll show you to your dorm first so you don’t have to drag your suitcase around.”

Harry was grateful for that. She wasn’t really a materialistic person, but packing for whole school terms at a time definitely took up luggage space. She even felt that she’d been quite lenient with the amount of books that she’d brought with her. She sure hoped that the school had a good library or she’d be out of reading material pretty quickly. It wasn’t difficult to tell that reading was her favourite hobby.

Yuki chattered away as they made their way to the dormitories, explaining more about the academy. “This is where we stay – in the Sun dorms. The Moon dorms are on the other side of campus.”

“Sun and Moon,” Harry mused. She felt that put her in the better-sounding dormitories. “That’s pretty cool. So is the Sun dorm for girls and Moon for boys?”

“No, we have both for each,” explained Yuki. “The Sun dorms are for us Day Class students and the Moon dorms are for the Night Class students.”

“Night Class students?” Harry asked questioningly. There were students here who studied at night?

“They’re all aristocrats,” Yuki specified. “They’re used to running on a different... schedule to the rest of us.” She faltered slightly, but Harry didn’t notice. She may have read a lot of books, but she wasn’t half as good at reading people.

The Sun dormitories were basic, but nice. Harry couldn’t help but wonder if the Moon dormitories were more upmarket, seeing as they housed aristocratic students. She discovered she was going to be sharing a room with a girl called Yoko Ohayashi. The idea was nerve-wracking enough, but she wouldn’t even get to meet her roommate yet, since the rest of the Day Class students were currently in class.

By the time Yuki had showed Harry around the whole campus, the classes had clearly ended and the Day Class students had poured outside. Large groups of girls immediately began swarming towards the Night Class building.

“Oh, no, it’s that time again,” Yuki sighed. “I hope Zero’s already ahead of them. Come on, I’d better go and help out.”

Harry had no idea what was going on, but she followed Yuki anyway. Yuki forced her way through the crowd with Harry struggling to keep up. What was going on? It was almost like hordes of fan girls attempting to catch a glimpse of their favourite celebrities on the red carpet.

“What’s happening exactly?” Harry had to ask, as Yuki helped her to create a pathway through all the people.

“I guess you could say these guys are a bit like celebrities,” said Yuki, mirroring the idea in Harry’s head. “They certainly have their own share of admirers. That’s part of my duty as disciplinary committee – to try and keep order here... Oh, there’s Zero!”

She was looking towards a surly, silver-haired boy at the front of the crowd. No sooner had she said it, he noticed her too. His disgruntled expression didn’t change. “Where have you been, Yuki?” he called to her. “Have you been slacking off somewhere?”

“Of course I haven’t!” Yuki protested indignantly. She quickly turned back to Harry, looking guilty. “Hey, do you mind if I just try and help keep the students in line for a bit? I promise I’ll wait here for you afterwards.” Her face was concerned, as if Harry couldn’t cope on her own. 

“Sure, I’ll be fine,” said Harry, completely nonplussed. She couldn’t understand what the big deal was.

“Thank you,” replied Yuki gratefully. “Just wait around in this area for me. Maybe move away from the crowd a bit if you need to.”

Harry reassured her again that she’d be okay, so Yuki went to join Zero at the front of the crowd, where she then started barking orders at some of the girls. Harry felt completely unconcerned. Yuki seemed to have taken this all very seriously, but she really couldn’t see any problem here. These were just teenage girls after all – they weren’t a pack of ravenous animals.

But then the gate to the Night Class building opened and, proving Harry wrong, all hell broke loose. The girls around her went wild – screaming and pushing and trying to force their way forward. Harry was completely astonished. They _were_ like a pack of animals.

Her first thought was to back away as much as she could, since she was just getting jostled from side to side standing here. Yuki’s concern for her clearly made sense now. But she was also curious to wait and see what all the fuss was about. Just what kind of individuals could provoke this kind of mass reaction?

She soon found out. Through the gate walked a group of the most stunning people she’d ever seem. Harry didn’t scream or push, but she certainly couldn’t help gawking along with everyone else. 

She couldn’t decide who was more beautiful. The male who looked like a model with his wonderfully clashing red hair and blue eyes, the striking girl with impeccably long curls, the blonde-haired boy with startling green eyes...

Wham! One of the Day Class girls became too agitated and suddenly shoved Harry so hard that she went hurtling forwards out of the crowd. A pair of hands caught her before she could hit the floor and she was pulled up against a solid chest. She blinked up to find a boy with eyes the colour of liquid sky and blonde hair that looked like it had been painstakingly arranged to be stylishly messy.

“Are you okay? Were some of the girls playing too rough?” he asked teasingly in a singsong voice. He still didn’t let go of her.

“Err, I’m fine,” replied Harry, feeling perplexed. She could stand perfectly fine by herself – he didn’t need to hold onto her still. He certainly didn’t have to hold her quite so close.

“Hanabusa,” warned the other blonde with the green eyes that Harry had so admired. “She said she’s fine; leave her alone.”

“I’m not doing anything wrong,” Hanabusa argued with a grin, pulling Harry even closer. “Don’t you agree? You don’t want me to let go yet, do you?”

Before Harry could quite decide how to respond, a sharp voice snapped, “Hanabusa!”

Hanabusa jumped and released Harry so abruptly that she staggered sideways several steps. The speaker was another boy, this one with waving black hair and dark eyes to match. He was truly beautiful, but he had a very definite power about him that said that he was in charge. It made Harry feel a little uncomfortable.

“I would listen to Takuma if I were you,” he advised, voice cool. “This girl is clearly new – you should leave her be.”

“Forgive me, Lord Kaname. It was just a joke.” Hanabusa gave him a quick and formal bow out of respect.

“Well, it wasn’t a very funny one. And it isn’t me you should be asking for forgiveness from,” the student called Kaname scolded. He then turned to Harry, his face apologetic. “I’m very sorry. Please forgive him for harassing you – I doubt he really meant anything by it.”

“Erm, that’s okay?” Harry still felt very confused. She couldn’t really see where any ‘harassing’ had come into it. All Hanabusa had done was catch her. He’d maybe held onto her a little too long, but she hadn’t really understood that anyway. Maybe he’d thought she’d be likely to fall down a second time.

“Kaname!” Yuki had suddenly joined them, looking flustered. “I’m sorry. This is Harry – you’re right; she is new. I’ve been looking after her.”

Kaname gave them both a warm smile. “Of course you have.” He turned to Harry. “Then you’re in perfectly safe hands. Take note of what Yuki tells you and you won’t have any problems. I hope you settle in well here.”

He briefly patted Yuki on the shoulder, before continuing to walk away with the other Night Class students. Harry noticed that Yuki now looked even pinker in the face. Was she getting sick? Had trying to reign in all of the other girls cost too much effort?

“Are you okay?” she asked. “You look a bit flushed.”

“No, no, I’m fine!” Yuki insisted, embarrassed. She pulled Harry over to the side. “But maybe you should wait for me over here, away from the others.”

Harry looked over at the crowd to see that the majority of the girls were glaring daggers at her and Yuki. She felt dismayed. Were they going to start discriminating against her because she was new? And Yuki too for helping her? She couldn’t think of any other reason for their hostility towards the two of them.

“Here,” interrupted Zero, who’d been watching everything with cool eyes. He got Yuki to switch places with him. “You’ll be fine over here now,” he told Harry. “Most of the girls are afraid of me.”

Harry was surprised to hear so. He didn’t come across as particularly scary to her. He seemed to vibrate with a certain kind of energy like Kaname did, but nowhere near as intimidating. Either way, she was grateful for his help. As Zero and Yuki continued to shepherd the rest of the girls along, she stayed meekly behind Zero and avoided looking at anyone, keeping her gaze fixed resolutely on the back of Zero’s head.

It was only her first day and already she didn’t seem to be having a very positive impression on the other students. Maybe catching her first look at the beautiful people hadn’t been worth it after all.


	2. The Angel From My Nightmare

Meeting her new roommate had been nowhere near the nerve-wracking experience that Harry had been imagining. In fact, it had been quite the opposite. Yoko Ohayashi was possibly the bubbliest person she’d ever met and she was ecstatic at the idea of having a roommate.

“Hi, I’m Yoko Ohayashi!” she said enthusiastically, holding out her hand.

“It’s nice to meet you,” replied Harry happily, giving her hand a firm shake. What had she been worried about again? “I’m Tamashi Harima, but you can just call me Harry.”

“Harry; that’s so pretty!” exclaimed Yoko. “And I’m so glad to finally have a roommate – it gets dead boring in here after classes are over.”

“How come you haven’t had a roommate till now?” asked Harry.

“I started the year a little late myself and by that time, everyone else had already been assigned rooms together,” Yoko explained. “So I’ve been in here on my own since I started.”

Well, at least it looked like somebody was pleased she was starting here, Harry thought to herself, remembering the glares she’d received from the other girls earlier on. But out loud, she said, “So do you like it here? Is it a good school?”

Her dad had always sung the academy’s praises – not to mention it had been his idea for her to transfer to Cross Academy in the first place – but then he was quite biased on the matter. Another student’s opinion was bound to be much more reliable.

“Yeah!” enthused Yoko. “There’s a lot of nice people here – most of the teachers are really easygoing too. Your dad’s Mr. Harima, isn’t he? I heard your dad was one of the teachers.”

“Yeah, that’s him,” confirmed Harry. “Do you have him for any classes?” She had to admit that she was intrigued to hear what the other students thought of her father as a teacher.

But Yoko shook her head. “No, I’ve just seen him around the campus. He only teaches the Night Class students.”

So her dad taught the aristocrats. That was actually pretty cool. “So do they really only get taught at night?” She still couldn’t quite get her head around that idea. She’d never heard of anything like it at any other schools.

“Yep. It’s kinda strange, isn’t it?” said Yoko. “Sometimes you see them around on a morning or towards the end of the day, but they generally stay in their dorms. It’s almost like they’re allergic to sunlight or something.”

“Weird,” agreed Harry. Maybe they were like those poor pale, geeky kids that spent far too long cooped up indoors and then couldn’t handle too much direct sunlight. “So do we have a curfew or anything for when we have to be back in our dorms?”

“Generally around twilight,” replied Yoko. “Unless you have special permission from one of the teachers.”

Harry nodded. That wouldn’t be difficult to get if she needed to. Her father was a teacher after all. “Can you tell me where the library is? I was shown around the campus earlier, but not so much inside the buildings.” Now that she’d unpacked, she knew for definite that she didn’t have enough books with her to last for very long.

“Yeah, it’s in the main building closest to the front gates,” explained Yoko. “It’s on the ground floor, literally the last door at the end of the corridor.”

“Great, thanks.” Harry grabbed her currently empty shoulder bag, intending for it to be full when she came back.

“You’re still gonna go out now?” asked Yoko, looking at the clock on her bedside table. It was practically their curfew time already.

“It’s okay. I’ll see if I can find my dad and ask him to vouch for me,” Harry reassured. Going to look at books didn’t really make her the rebellious type. “Um... Do you want me to grab anything for you?”

Yoko laughed. “No, it’s alright. I get the feeling you’re more into books than I am.” She pointedly eyed the small collection that Harry had already set out next to her bed. “I hope you find it okay.”

“Thanks.”

She didn’t intend to be too long anyway, Harry told herself as she crossed the now quiet campus towards the main building. She pretty much already knew what she wanted. Some classics. Classic novels were her favourites, but she hadn’t brought any of her own with her in, order to conserve luggage space. She was sure that any library would be guaranteed to have plenty of Shakespeare, Dickens and Hardy.

The library was as easy to find as Yoko had described. And just as quiet as the campus outside. But of course, that was normal for a library. Harry had always liked that. It was a nice change from the rowdy atmosphere she was used to at home.

The librarian looked up when Harry came in, but she simply smiled at her, then returned her attention to the book in front of her. She didn’t say anything about a curfew being due. Perhaps Yoko had been wrong about the time. Well, maybe then she could browse for longer without being disturbed.

The library wasn’t very big – it was quite a bit smaller than the one at her last school – and it didn’t take Harry very long to realise that it actually didn’t have what she wanted. They barely had any classics at all. They didn’t even have Hamlet. She asked the librarian, who apologetically confirmed as much that the tiny collection was all they had.

Well, damn. She’d have to write back home and see if Hideki could drive up and bring some for her when he had chance. Until then, she’d just have to browse for some new material instead. Her empty bag was still flapping against her as a reminder that it wanted to be filled.

She browsed the poor display of classics that were there. The only Shakespeare works on the shelf were A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Romeo and Juliet. As much as she loved Shakespeare, those particular two were her least favourites by far. Her practical nature didn’t accommodate for fantasy and she didn’t care much for romance either.

Personally, she thought Juliet was a bit of an idiot. What a waste of a life to kill herself just because Romeo was dead – that wasn’t really going to solve anything, was it? Not to mention Romeo had done the same thing in the first place and Juliet hadn’t even been dead in that case. He really should have checked first.

Still, it was the lesser of two evils. Fantasy really had no place in Harry’s life. She tucked the copy of Romeo and Juliet under her arm. She needed some Shakespeare to keep her going until she got hold of Hamlet – wet characters or not. Why hadn’t she just brought her own copy with her? She knew how often she liked to re-read it.

She also picked up Great Expectations from one of the lower shelves – another one she’d read multiple times already – and a couple of Arthur Conan Doyle’s novels. She stacked them all against the crook of her arm and continued to look around. Besides the whole classics drama, the library was quite a nice little place. 

There were some desks over in the corner by the window. Maybe she could bring some of her pencils and sketchpads with her and do some drawing in here sometime. Drawing was another of her favourite hobbies – second only to reading.

After quickly scanning a few of the other sections, Harry moved round to have a look at the trolley of books to be put back on the shelves. She always found it quite interesting to see what other people had been reading. Unfortunately, the choices weren’t very educated. They were mostly a bunch of teen romances. Oh dear. Hadn’t anybody at this school heard of Oscar Wilde or Virginia Woolf?

“Clearly not,” Harry muttered to herself, as she rifled through the returned books with her free hand. “Another thin romance. And another... A poor imitation of Battle Royale... George's Marvellous Medicine? I’m pretty sure that’s for kids.”

“You obviously know your books,” came an amused voice.

Harry jumped and almost tipped the books she was holding onto the floor. It was one of the Night Class students. The blonde with the lovely green eyes. He’d stepped up to the other side of the trolley without her even noticing – she’d been too engrossed in her own running commentary.

“Oh, sorry,” apologised Harry, jogging the books to get a better hold on them. “I was in my own world there.” Not to mention she had an embarrassing habit of talking to herself.

“Books have that effect,” the boy smiled. “We met earlier outside the Moon dormitories, didn’t we? I do apologise for what happened.”

“Err, it’s fine, really,” Harry insisted. She didn’t know why people kept apologising for that. She still didn’t even quite understand what was bad about what had happened. She clearly knew nothing about social situations.

“I’m glad to hear. I didn’t introduce myself properly before – my name’s Takuma Ichijo. I’m the vice president of the Night Class students,” he said graciously.

“I’m Tamashi Harima,” Harry replied. “But you can just call me Harry.” She was so used to that way of introducing herself that it just rolled right off her tongue.

“Then Harry it is,” Takuma smiled. “This is only your first day, right?” Harry nodded. “Have you managed to find your way around okay?”

“Oh, yeah, Yuki Cross gave me a tour when I first got here – she was really helpful,” said Harry. “Then my roommate told me where I could find the library. I guess you could say that was my first priority.” She purposely angled the books forward to emphasise her point.

Takuma chuckled. “Well, there’s no greater escape than reading,” he said knowledgably.

“Right,” Harry smiled back. Maybe not everyone at this school was so uneducated after all. “It’s just a shame this library’s so low on classics. I have to admit I was disappointed that they only seem to stock two Shakespeare works here.”

“Yes, this library does seem to give priority to more modern writers,” Takuma agreed. “We have a library in the Night Class building too, but it’s much smaller than this. Less selection. It does have a wider range of classics though.”

“Really?” Harry brightened. Surely at least that library would have a copy of Hamlet.

“Harry!” a different, more familiar voice suddenly called.

“...Dad?” Harry turned round just as Satoshi came running up and threw his arms around her in a bear hug, almost making her drop the books again. “ _Dad_!” she protested. “We’re at school! You could try acting a little more professional!”

Satoshi disregarded his daughter’s comment, but he did release her. “I had a feeling I’d find you in here. Only your first day and you’ve already found the library!”

Harry couldn’t help grinning. “You know me too well.”

“And Ichijo!” Satoshi addressed the Night Class student fondly. “I see you’ve met my daughter. Have you been helping her find her feet too?”

“Just some advice on library selection,” said Takuma pleasantly. He displayed no surprise over learning that his teacher was the new girl’s father. He then turned back to Harry. “If you do need any help with anything and you see me around, please feel free to ask. I’ll be happy to help.”

“Oh... Thank you. I will,” said Harry gratefully. Well, nobody could ever knock the aristocrats here for being stuck up. So far, none of them had been anything but friendly towards her.

“How lovely! That’s very generous of you, Ichijo,” Satoshi interrupted, looking pleased. “Now, Harry, let’s go and get those books checked out.” He took the stack of books from her in an attempt to be helpful before she could protest. “Let’s see, what have you picked up... _More_ Shakespeare? I don’t know how you can read that stuff – they don’t make any sense.”

Harry just rolled her eyes at him. “And you call yourself a teacher.”

“I’ll see you in class in a bit, Ichijo,” Satoshi said over his shoulder, leading Harry towards the librarian’s desk.

“Err, it was nice talking to you,” Harry added before her dad could drag her away.

“The pleasure was all mine,” Takuma replied politely. Wow. Harry wasn’t so used to people being quite so... upper class. Her family came from a middle class background through and through.

Satoshi annoyingly accompanied Harry to get signed up for a school library card so that she could get her books checked out. He then showered her with questions about her first day as she packed the books away into her shoulder bag. He went on for so long that Takuma had already checked out a book himself and then left.

“So have you seen all of the Night Class students yet? They’re quite something, aren’t they?” Satoshi continued his questioning as soon as Takuma was gone.

“Yeah, I guess,” Harry replied uninterestedly, as she adjusted her bag on her shoulder. Most fathers would be trying to push their daughters away from good-looking boys. Not trying to draw their attention towards them. 

“Excuse me,” interrupted the librarian. Both Harry and Satoshi looked round. “It was Hamlet you asked about, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, how come?” asked Harry.

“I’ve just checked and we do actually stock a copy of it,” explained the librarian, indicating the computer screen in front of her. “It’s just checked out at the moment.”

“Oh, okay,” said Harry more brightly. Maybe there was hope for this library after all. Though she did still want to check out the Night Class library too. “Thanks for checking for me.”

“Not a problem. Have a nice evening.”

“So what’s your new roommate like?” Satoshi asked, as he followed Harry out of the library. “Kaien said you’d been put with the Ohayashi girl. Is she nice?”

“Oh, yeah. She seems really lovely actually,” said Harry. Her father seemed happy with that answer. “Kaien? Is that the headmaster?”

“That’s right,” confirmed Satoshi. He then grinned. “My best buddy back in the day.”

“Oh god...” Harry did not want to think of her father ‘back in the day’. According to her mother, he’d been even more of a twit back then than he was now. Harry wasn’t even sure if that was possible. “I’d better get back to my dorm now anyway. I’ll probably see you around campus.”

“Okay then, be good,” said Satoshi, kissing the top of her head. It was the standard phrase used frequently within the family – he seemed to forget that Harry was the best-behaved of his children. “And good luck in your classes tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Dad,” said Harry. “Have fun in yours tonight.”

“Oh, I’m sure I will. Those Night Class students won’t know what hit them when they see how fun my lesson is,” Satoshi enthused.

Harry just laughed at him. He really was insane. Satoshi watched as his daughter gave him a parting wave and disappeared down the corridor, feeling both pleased and also a little sad over the pain that she was sure to endure soon enough. Only her first day and she was already making friends with the creatures of her nightmares. And she had absolutely no idea.


	3. Shadow in the Background

As she’d predicted, the small collection of books that Harry had checked out from the library didn’t last her very long - even when she tried to draw them out. She revisited the library on a daily basis over the next several days to see whether the copy of Hamlet had been returned yet, but still had no luck.

She was tempted to just write home and ask Hideki to bring her copy up to the school if he had the chance, but she still had the Night Class library to check out first. Takuma had said that they had a better selection of classics. That was exactly what Harry needed.

She made her way down to the Night Class building the following morning. Yoko had told her before that the Night Class students studied through the night. So surely that would mean that the aristocrats slept during the day? It all seemed a little bizarre to Harry. For all she knew, the building would be shut and she wouldn’t even be able to get inside.

That was why she was hoping that by going so early, there might still be students up and about. Or at least some of the staff who worked in the Night Class building. As long as she could get into the library, then Harry didn’t really care.

It seemed that somebody else had the same idea to try the building earlier on. Harry was quite startled to see a brown-haired Day Class girl along the far side of the Night Class building, attempting to peer in through one of the bottom windows. Her bag was sat at her feet on the grass.

“Err, are you alright?” Harry called uncertainly. She was unwilling to follow the girl onto the grass. It looked so perfect that surely there should have been a sign posted, forbidding students from walking on it.

“I’m fine,” replied the girl. “I just can’t see inside very well – they put these windows in so high.”

“So the building's locked?” asked Harry in dismay. Maybe she’d have to come back again later.

“No, everywhere’s still open, of course,” said the girl, still not looking away from the window.

Harry was baffled. “Um... Why don’t you just go round the front then? I’m guessing you wanna get inside?”

The girl turned away from the window for the first time and looked at Harry like she was an alien. “Because we’re not allowed inside. Why else?”

That just puzzled Harry even more. Nobody had mentioned anything to her about there being anywhere on the campus that was off limits. “Nobody told me we weren’t allowed.”

The girl’s look turned curious. “Sorry, are you new or something?”

“Yeah, I just started this week,” said Harry. Oh, great, did that mean everyone _had_ forgotten to mention this to her?

“Oh! Are you Mr. Harima’s daughter?” asked the girl, realisation dawning on her face.

“Err, yeah,” replied Harry. She wasn’t sure she liked already having a reputation here. Especially when it was for being related to her dopey father. “My name’s Tamashi, but everyone just calls me Harry.”

“Well, no wonder nobody said _you_ weren’t allowed in here!” exclaimed the girl, suddenly excited. She grabbed her bag and skipped back across the grass towards Harry. “You must get special treatment since your dad’s a teacher. I’m Kara Tsukiyama.”

“Oh, nice to meet you,” said Harry, a little taken aback. She hadn’t expected to get any special treatment since she was the daughter of one of the teachers. Did she really have free reign when all of the other students had to follow stricter rules? “So... Did you want to come in with me?”

“Yeah, if you don’t mind. Let’s go!” said Kara enthusiastically, looping her arm through Harry’s and directing her round to the front of the building.

Wow, Harry thought to herself. Were all the girls at Cross Academy this bubbly? There was a guard on duty just inside the entrance of the building. He looked up when he saw the two girls come in, but after one look at them, he just gave them a simple nod and didn’t say anything.

“Wow, that was easy,” said Kara in amazement. “I’ve never actually been in here before.”

“Oh. So I take it you won’t know where the library is then?” Harry was already dismayed by the several staircases leading away from the foyer. She had a feeling that this was laid out a lot more complicated than the Day Class building.

“The library?” repeated Kara. “Is _that_ what you’re here for?”

“Yeah. Why; is that weird?” Harry knew that not everyone her age enjoyed reading, but was it really that odd that she wanted to check out the library?

“Well, I thought you’d be here to see someone,” said Kara meaningfully.

“Like who?” Harry was completely flummoxed. “You mean my dad?”

Kara burst out laughing. “Are you serious? You’re really not here to see any of the guys?”

“Well, I don’t really know anyone in the Night Class,” said Harry. She was now totally lost. She had no idea what was so funny.

Kara forced herself to stop laughing. “I’m so sorry; that was really rude of me. I didn’t mean to laugh. It’s just... Well, most girls try to get in here just to see the Night Class boys. Haven’t you seen them around?”

“Yeah, I’ve seen a couple of them already,” admitted Harry. She still didn’t understand the relevance of that.

“Don’t you have a favourite yet?” asked Kara disbelievingly. She couldn’t believe how Harry could have seen the small group of students who could all pass for models and not have even the slightest inkling as to who fit her preferences.

“Um, should I?” Was this the protocol at this school? Harry really didn’t have a clue. “I don’t really know any of them yet.”

Kara just laughed again, shaking her head. “You’re really something else. So you honestly just want to see the library?”

“Honestly,” repeated Harry. She was sure she’d made that clear already.

Kara was certain that she’d never met anyone quite so clueless before. But it was rather endearing, not to mention amusing. She gave Harry a wide smile. “In that case, I’ll help you find it.”

“Oh, that’s okay. You don’t have to,” reassured Harry.

“No, I insist,” said Kara, grabbing Harry’s arm again. “Come on, let’s try up this way.”

The sweeping staircase led them up to a long, wide corridor lined with several doors. It looked more like they’d found their way up to the dormitories. Even the doors and the carpet along the corridor itself looked much fancier than the ones back in the Sun dorms.

“I don’t think this is it,” said Harry, looking round.

“I think you’re right,” Kara agreed, who was staring along the corridor with wide eyes. These were the Night Class dorms. The idea that that was where she was standing was almost scary.

“Let’s go back down and try the other stairs,” decided Harry. “We’ll probably get lost up here.”

“Yeah. Okay...” said Kara slowly. She seemed a little more reluctant to move this time, but she did allow Harry to direct her back towards the stairs.

They’d only just reached the top of the staircase when they heard a door open behind them. They both turned round to see Hanabusa walk out onto the corridor, yawning and still in his pyjamas. His usually styled hair was rumpled on one side. He stopped in his tracks when he saw them – a look of complete surprise on his face.

“I thought I heard someone out here,” he said. “But I didn’t expect to find two lovely girls waiting for me.”

“Sorry, we got a little lost and came up the wrong stairs,” Harry apologised. “We were just... Hey, Kara, are you alright?”

The other girl had consequently frozen up and turned a deep shake of pink. She looked like she was just about ready to pass out on the spot. Was she having some kind of an episode?

Hanabusa’s face split into a grin. “Oh, I wouldn’t worry,” he said, slinging an arm over Kara’s shoulders. “I’ve seen it before. She’s clearly lovesick over me.”

Lovesick? Harry frowned. Now he was just making things up. Yet when she looked at Kara again, the other girl definitely looked like she was going to faint. She’d seemed so bubbly and talkative just a few minutes ago. But now, she seemed unable to move or even say anything.

“Maybe I should take her to the nurse,” said Harry uncertainly.

Hanabusa waggled a finger in Harry’s face. “Don’t be silly. There’s no cure for _love_!”

_I really have no idea what he’s talking about_ , Harry thought to herself. “Well, I should at least take her somewhere she can sit down,” she insisted. Kara’s face was even pinker now, if that was even possible.

“That’s a great idea!” Hanabusa enthused, throwing his free arm around Harry’s shoulders too and steering them back up the corridor. “Come on, she’ll be able to sit down through here.”

“Um, okay,” said Harry, a little confused. It was nice of him to help Kara, but the other girl and herself were both perfectly capable of walking by themselves.

“Hanabusa, what are you doing?”

The three of them turned around. Takuma was standing in one of the doorways that they’d just passed. Unlike Hanabusa, he was already dressed – wearing a mint green sweater and cream pants. He looked shocked to see Hanabusa with the two girls, particularly a very mystified-looking Harry.

“Oh... Ichijo.” Hanabusa seemed a little taken aback to have been spotted, but he quickly regained his composure. “This lovely lady here wasn’t feeling well, so I was just taking her somewhere where she could sit down.” He inclined his head towards Kara.

“If she’s ill, then she should go to the nurse,” said Takuma. “She definitely shouldn’t be up here.”

“I’ll take her to the nurse,” Harry offered, sliding out from under Hanabusa’s arm and pulling Kara away with her.

Kara glanced from Harry to Takuma and suddenly seemed to come back to life a bit. “It’s okay, I can go to the... _nurse_ by myself,” she said quickly, looking pointedly at Harry. “You came here to check out the library, remember?”

“Oh... Yeah, right.” Harry really had forgotten about it in all of the confusion.

“The library?” Takuma repeated, surprised.

“Yeah. You said it had a better selection of classics, right?” Harry asked.

“Err, yes. That’s right,” replied Takuma. He still seemed completely thrown – that was clearly the last thing he’d expected to hear.

“Then I’ll catch you later, Harry,” Kara said quickly, making her hasty retreat before anyone else could catch her. 

Hanabusa pouted after her. It wasn’t often that Day Class girls managed to find a way into the Night Class building. And like so many others, it was obvious that this one was completely smitten with him too. On the other hand, as for Harry, he could already see that she was a lost cause. She seemed to come from a completely different world.

“Hanabusa, you should go back to your room,” Takuma advised. Hanabusa opened his mouth to protest, so he added, “Before Kaname finds out.”

Hanabusa shut his mouth again resolutely. It was clear that the dorm president had a lot of influence over him. “Fine then.” He stalked back to his room.

“You shouldn’t have come here unsupervised just to check out the library,” Takuma informed Harry once Hanabusa had disappeared through one of the doors.

“I... didn’t realise,” said Harry truthfully. “Nobody told me anything about having to be supervised.”

So the Day Class students really weren’t allowed into the Night Class building? But then why hadn’t she been told that when she’d started here? Maybe Kara really was right about getting special treatment. Still, she'd been caught out either way. So did this mean she was in trouble now? She’d never gotten into trouble at school before. She guessed she really was a true Harima after all.

Takuma frowned. “Really? And the guard downstairs didn’t try to stop you?”

Harry shook her head. “Kara reckons I must be getting some kind of special treatment because of my dad.”

Takuma’s frown deepened. Satoshi Harima was one of the few people who knew the truth about the school – the Night Class in particular. Surely he would have been even more restrictive on where his daughter was allowed to go. Yet he seemed to be doing the exact opposite. Takuma guessed he must have had a reason for it, but it didn’t make it any less dangerous for Harry.

“Well, you should still be careful,” he cautioned her. “Especially going around on your own.”

“Oh.” Harry didn’t really know what to say to that. What was she supposed to be careful of? This was just a boarding school.

Takuma seemed to take her response as disappointment, because he hastily added, “But since you’re here, I’ll be happy to show you to the library if you’d like.”

Harry brightened instantly. “Yes, thank you. That would be great.” 

Takuma smiled at her enthusiasm. “Right this way then.”

He led Harry back down the staircase, across the foyer and up a different set of stairs. Harry reckoned it was probably the last set that she would have tried with Kara. They would have been wandering around for ages if the Night Class students hadn’t found them.

The library was indeed a lot smaller than the one in the Day Class building, which still made Harry apprehensive, but Takuma was right in that the selection here was mostly classics. Harry soon became engrossed as she started reading along the titles. Jane Austen, all of the Bronte sisters, Daniel Defoe... Not to mention they seemed to have every single Dickens _and_ Hardy novel ever made.

Takuma watched in amusement as Harry scanned along every shelf, picked out several books – putting two of them back after second thoughts – selected another from a different shelf and even stood and turned through several pages of a few others. She was in her own little world again. She’d completely forgotten that Takuma was even there.

By the time Harry reached the Shakespeare section, she already had a collection of six books stacked on the floor beside her. She sure hoped that there wasn’t a limit to how many she could check out. She read along the spines of the Shakespeare works, feeling a lot more at home. She picked up copies of Macbeth and The Merchant of Venice as she moved down the aisle.

Unfortunately, they didn’t have every single Shakespeare like they did with Dickens and Hardy. Who knew why. There were a few big titles missing from the selection – annoyingly, Hamlet was one of them. Harry sighed. It looked like she was going to have to write home to Hideki after all if she wanted to be reading her favourite playwright any time soon.

“You look like you’ve been more successful this time,” Takuma observed brightly. He’d been looking at some other books himself, but when he saw Harry struggling to gather the collection she’d picked out into her arms, he helpfully took several from the top for her.

“Thank you,” said Harry gratefully, finding it much easier to carry the smaller stack. “I guess I always get a little carried away with books.”

“It’s easy to do,” Takuma agreed with a smile. “Did you find everything you were looking for?”

“Not everything,” admitted Harry. “They still don’t seem to have all of Shakespeare’s works here.”

Takuma eyed the Shakespeare section himself. “Yes, you are right,” he agreed. “There are still some excellent ones here though. A Midsummer Night’s Dream in particular.”

Harry resisted the urge to make a face. “Actually, that’s probably my least favourite of his.”

Takuma looked surprised. “Really? I think it’s one of his best works.”

“I’m not really a fan of fantastical fiction,” Harry explained. “I prefer realism more.”

“I suppose fantasy’s not for everyone,” Takuma conceded. He didn’t seem at all offended, despite Harry’s blunt difference in opinion. “So was there a particular work you were looking for?”

“I really wanted to get hold of Hamlet,” said Harry. “I left my copy at home and I wish I hadn’t. I thought the school would have had at least more than one copy of it...”

“Oh!” Realisation dawned on Takuma’s face. “You mean the copy from the Day Class library? I’m so sorry; I’m the one who checked that out.”

“Really?” Well, at least Harry knew that the copy was definitely still in the school and hadn’t dropped off the face of the earth just to spite her. “So you still have it?”

“Yes,” replied Takuma, looking a little sheepish. “I checked it out and then I’m afraid I got a little distracted by some other novels that I found. But you can borrow it and read it first if you’re so desperate to get hold of it?”

“Oh, no, that’s okay,” said Harry awkwardly. “You don’t have to do that. I’m just glad to hear that the copy does still exist. I was beginning to think it had been sucked into a black hole.”

“Well, my dorm room could probably constitute that,” Takuma chuckled. “But please, I insist. I probably still won’t get round to reading it just yet, so I’d feel guilty knowing you were waiting for it to be returned.”

“Err, well, if you’re sure...” said Harry uncertainly. She knew that personally, if she’d checked a book out, she certainly wouldn’t be lending it to anyone else. Not until she’d read it herself anyway.

“Completely sure,” Takuma insisted cheerfully. “If you check these ones out that you want, I’ll just run and get it for you from my dorm. I’ll leave these ones on the front desk for you.”

He was slightly loathed to leave her alone, knowing that she was so oblivious to the rules of the school that kept the other students out of danger. There was a reason that Day Class girls weren’t allowed inside the Night Class building. But the library assistant here was a lot more forceful and much bigger than the one working the Day Class library. And he was in on the school’s secret too. Harry would be safe here at least.

“Err, okay. Thank you. I appreciate it,” Harry managed to smile, still a little stunned by how nice he was being.

“Just wait here for me,” Takuma requested. “I’ll only be a few minutes.”

As Takuma hurried off, Harry took one quick last look at the Shakespeare works on the shelf. She ended up grabbing a copy of Othello to add to her stack before making her way over to the desk at the front of the library. Takuma had left the other books there like he’d said.

“Err, all of these. And these ones are mine too.” Harry put the books down on the desk and indicated the ones that were already there.

The rather gruff-looking library assistant rumbled a response and began scanning through the books. Thankfully, there didn’t seem to be a limit on how many could be checked out at a time. Once they’d all been scanned, Harry was able to fit about two thirds of them into the shoulder bag that she’d brought with her again. She’d have to carry the rest separately, but at least it was a significantly smaller stack now.

Takuma was true to his word and he returned within minutes, carrying a slightly battered copy of Hamlet. Compared to Harry’s one at home, it was in excellent condition. “Thanks so much,” she said gratefully, as Takuma added it to the pile in her arms for her. “I’ll bring it back to you as soon as possible.”

“It’s fine, really,” smiled Takuma. “Take as much time as you need. Though I have to say I’m surprised you like Hamlet so much seeing as you seemed so against fantasy.”

Harry was astonished by that remark. “What do you mean?”

“Well, people could argue that it has a fantastical element to it with Hamlet meeting the ghost of his murdered father,” Takuma pointed out.

Harry just shook her head. “And people could also argue that the idea behind that is merely symbolic – the ghost being a reflection of Hamlet’s inner conscience and showing how his faith is challenged.”

Takuma blinked, looking just as surprised by her answer. But then he laughed. “I always thought I was well versed in Shakespeare, but you make me feel like a novice.”

Harry smiled sheepishly. Oh, great, she was coming off like a know-it-all again. “Well, you’ll be able to beat me on knowledge of A Midsummer Night’s Dream any day.”

Takuma chuckled. “I’ll take what I can get.”

The bell rang then, signalling the start of morning lessons for the Day Class students. Harry grimaced. She hadn’t realised how late it had gotten. She was going to have to quickly run back to the Sun dorms first. She didn’t want to be lugging so many books round her classes with her.

“Looks like I’d better get going,” she said apologetically. It was nice having someone she could talk to about classics. None of her family or friends had ever understood her obsession with Shakespeare.

“Yes, I wouldn’t want to make you late for class,” agreed Takuma. “Allow me to escort you back outside.”

“Oh, that’s okay,” said Harry hastily. She really wasn’t used to people being so overly nice. “Don’t worry about it – I’ll be able to find my own way out.”

“If you’re sure...” said Takuma hesitantly.

Harry didn’t understand why everyone seemed so concerned about her. “I’ll be fine,” she reassured.

“Well, in that case, it was nice talking to you again,” said Takuma pleasantly. “I hope you enjoy Hamlet.”

“I will,” Harry smiled. “Thanks again. I’ll bring it back as soon as I’m finished.”

Takuma watched as she headed back towards the stairs, still quite amused. Her comment about symbolism had been impressive. There weren’t many students here who were quite so invested in literature. It was rather refreshing to know that the classics hadn’t died out with everyone.

But he was still concerned that her father was allowing her to roam around the campus wherever she pleased, despite knowing the real dangers behind the school. Again, he was sure that Mr. Harima must have a reason for it, but it just still didn’t feel safe.

Well, if Takuma had to keep an eye on Harry himself, then that was what he’d do. She was a pleasant enough girl – not to mention more than a little quirky – so he was happy to do so. And from what he’d seen so far, she seemed to be a bit socially clueless. He had a feeling that she’d probably need protecting in more ways than one.


	4. Unsuspecting Victim

Now that she actually had Hamlet in her hands – well, room if she was being technical; she didn’t actually carry the book with her everywhere she went – Harry felt much happier. She was a very fast reader and could easily sit with a novel for hours at a time. Most books never lasted her long at all. But when it came to a few of her utmost favourites, she much preferred to savour them. Hamlet, of course, was one of them.

And when she tried to savour books in this way, she ended up with a lot more free time than when she did her usual speed reading. Most people just saw Harry as a bit of an odd bookworm, but she still enjoyed doing other things. Really.

When the following afternoon rolled round, Harry realised that it was already two weeks since she’d started at Cross Academy and that she hadn’t done any of the drawings she’d promised to do for her best friend, Kotani, even with being at a different school. He’d said that there was no rush, that she could mail them to him whenever, but she felt she should have at least made a start on them by now.

So that afternoon, Harry had put Hamlet aside, gathered all of her drawing materials and Kotani’s notes together and headed down to the Day Class library. She’d already thought several times before that it would be the best place for drawing, since it was generally so quiet. That and she’d have a lot more space than the tiny desk that she and Yoko had to share in their dorm. 

But when she got there, she found the library to be unusually busy. They had some mock tests on Monday. Did that mean that all of these students were doing some last minute cramming before then? Harry was grateful she’d already done her revision earlier in the week. She didn’t think she’d be able to handle the pressure of leaving it so late.

She grabbed the only empty table near one of the windows and laid her bag on top of it. She was just about to sit down when she heard a familiar voice on the other side of the bookcase beside her. She peeked round the corner to see Kara Tsukiyama sat with several other girls at the far end of the library. Harry didn’t recognise any of them, but she was glad to see that Kara seemed to be feeling better since their visit to the Night Class building.

“Kara?” Harry gave the girl a small wave and made her way over to their table.

Kara smiled when she saw her. “Hey, Harry. Nice to see you again.”

“You too.” Harry noticed that the other girls were all looking at her so she gave them her usual introduction. “Hi, I’m Tamashi Harima. But everyone just calls me Harry.”

“Harima? As in Mr. Harima?” the girl with glasses asked, looking up from the textbook she’d been reading.

“He’s her father,” Kara answered helpfully. “Harry, these are my friends: Danielle Rothson, Rin Takeda, Megumi Nakano – who prefers to be called Meg – Juni Hasimoto and Shiori Itou.”

“It’s nice to meet you all,” Harry greeted them politely.

“My, my...” The brunette who Kara had introduced as Meg got up from her seat and stalked towards Harry. “You have _such_ pretty eyes.”

“Oh... Thank you,” said Harry, surprised and a little embarrassed.

Meg leant in extremely close until their faces were only inches apart, staring deeply into her eyes. Harry shifted uncomfortably. Why were all the girls here either overly friendly or bubbly? But then Meg simply winked at her and whispered, “Gorgeous”, under her breath before pulling away and returning to her seat.

Harry had no idea what had just happened. Still feeling dazed, she returned her attention to Kara and tentatively laid a hand on her shoulder. “I, um, wanted to make sure you were feeling okay. You seemed pretty out of it yesterday.”

“Oh? What’s this now?” Shiori cut in, addressing her friend. “Did you have help breaking into the Moon dorms, Kara?”

Breaking in? Harry frowned, feeling confused. They hadn’t done anything of the sort – they’d simply walked through the doors. That hardly classified as breaking in. The guard had even acknowledged their presence. And it wasn’t like they’d intended to end up in the Moon dormitories, of all places.

“Can we discuss this later please?” Kara hissed at the redhead.

“Hmm. But I want to discuss it _now_.”

Everyone’s heads turned at the sound of the new voice. Hanabusa had appeared behind Harry, looking the epitome of casual with his hands in his pockets and a semi-bored expression on his face. Meg waved him off disinterestedly.

“Shouldn’t you be getting ready to greet your many admirers, pretty boy?”

“Actually, I had some business with Miss Tsukiyama that I wanted to attend before class,” said Hanabusa, crouching down at the edge of the table to address Kara directly.

Harry felt a little rude eavesdropping on their quiet exchange and instead fixed her attention on one of the bookcases opposite, absent-mindedly reading along the titles on the spines. Hanabusa must have come to check on the Day Class girl after her little episode in the Moon dorms. That was actually quite sweet. And not exactly what Harry would have expected from him.

The next thing she knew, Hanabusa was then straightening up again. “ _Enchanté_ , ladies,” he bid them before leaving.

Harry glanced after his retreating back, still a little surprised. He came across as a bit more pompous than the other Night Class students, from what she’d seen so far – certainly the kind of attitude she’d originally expected of the aristocrats – but he clearly had a soft side too if he’d come all the way to the Day Class building before his lessons just to see if Kara was alright.

Meg noisily scooted her chair closer towards Kara, half crashing into one of her other friends. Rin, was it? “Come on, what did he say to you? It must have been good – you looked like you were practically on the verge of an orgasm when he said it.”

Harry felt her cheeks burn. Maybe she should have been tuning out for this conversation too. Rin, the girl with the braids, clearly thought so too. “Meg!” she exclaimed, looking scandalised.

Shiori then butted in before Meg could say anything worse. “Kara, I must say how proud I am of you. You actually _talked_ to him this time.”

“I barely said a single sentence to him,” Kara grumbled.

“It was worlds better than before though,” Harry pointed out reassuringly. “You looked like you were about to pass out or have a seizure or something.”

She hadn’t been listening to Kara and Hanabusa’s little conversation, but she remembered the girl’s reaction when Hanabusa had found them outside the dorms. Had Kara not been ill at all? Was that really all it had came down to – that Kara simply had a crush on the Night Class boy? That was what her friends seemed to be implying.

Sure enough... “That’s normal,” the others all replied in unison.

“Kara’s been obsessed with Aido since she first saw him,” Rin explained.

So that was it, Harry thought to herself in wonder. She was amazed she’d even gotten it right – she wasn’t really that clued up when it came to romance. She didn’t get subtle hints or so-called body language. Unless she was told things straight, then she was blissfully oblivious to it all.

Kara protested vehemently to Rin’s comment and also then to an added remark by Danielle – their curvier, blonde friend. Meg had to intervene loudly. “Bitches, stop fighting!” The librarian irritably shushed her from across the room, to which she responded, “Shut up, you old hag. We’re trying to have a conversation here.”

Her other friends all burst out laughing, whereas Harry felt quite embarrassed that the brunette would speak to an elder with such disrespect. The librarian clearly didn’t take too kindly to it either, because she proceeded to bluntly asking the group to leave for causing such a disruption.

“Err...” Harry stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do. Did that mean she was getting kicked out with the rest of them? But she hadn’t done anything wrong. All she’d wanted to do was sit and get some drawing done in peace.

“It’s okay, dear. I know you weren’t sat with them,” the librarian reassured her. “Those are your things on that table over there, aren’t they?”

“Um, yeah,” said Harry hesitantly.

She glanced back at Kara and her friends, worried that they might begrudge her for escaping the same punishment – even if she hadn’t been one of the ones making all the noise – but they were too busy hastily stuffing things back into their bags and muttering about the librarian to notice. Harry used the opportunity to scuttle safely back to her table.

Harry wasn’t sure if it was because of the librarian’s sudden display of wrath, but the library seemed to have now significantly emptied. That was fine with her – she was much more comfortable with the quieter environment. She made herself comfy and pulled out her pencil set, Kotani’s notes, a pack of specialist paper and her sketchbook.

Almost all of the drawings that she’d done for this project so far had already been passed onto her friend before leaving for Cross Academy. The only ones left in her sketchbook were the original character designs that they’d worked on together, so that she had materials to refer back to.

She pulled out a piece of paper and started outlining panels, counting out how many she’d need for the first page, looking back at Kotani’s notes before filling them in. They’d gone over everything beforehand and highlighted which parts of his storyline were most important, which needed more panels to focus on, which drawings should have dialogue bubbles and which ones shouldn’t...

“I’m starting to think you must live here.”

Harry looked up to see Takuma standing over her, looking cheerful as usual and carrying a small stack of books. She smiled. “And I’m starting to think that you must be following me. You’re not that desperate to be reunited with Hamlet, are you?”

“Oh, no, that’s not what I...” Takuma then stopped, noticing the amused look on Harry’s face and realising that she was just teasing him. He chuckled. “I mean, that’s right. I’m scarier than any librarian on a rampage.”

“Hey, she actually went on one earlier,” Harry joked. “You missed it – she cleared half the library out.”

Takuma laughed. “Actually, I saw everyone leaving. I think most of the girls were just following after Hanabusa.”

“Oh...” Would so many of them really have left just to follow one Night Class boy?

“Oh, wow, are you drawing manga?” Takuma had suddenly spotted the papers on the table in front of her.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I am.”

“Can I see?”

“Um, sure...” Harry passed the papers over, bemused by the boy’s enthusiasm. “I haven’t done much yet though.” She’d only lined five panels so far.

Takuma looked over the drawings eagerly. “Is this all original work?”

“Yeah, my friend wrote the storyline. I’m just the artist,” Harry explained. “I may read a lot, but I have zero creativity myself. I couldn’t write anything to save my life.”

Takuma just laughed at her, shaking his head. “I don’t know how you can draw like this and still believe you’re not creative. This is really fantastic!”

Harry felt the heat rush to her cheeks. She wasn’t really used to compliments – nobody besides Kotani had ever really shown an interest in her artwork. “Oh, err, thank you. But it’s nothing special or anything...”

“Now, now, there’s no need to be modest,” Takuma assured, waggling his finger at her. “So what’s the story? Or is it a secret?”

Harry was amazed that he was so interested, but she still felt incredibly flattered by it. She was quite proud of her and her friend’s little project. “It’s about two kids – two friends. Only one of them has a brain tumour... It’s a pretty depressing story really, but I always liked the idea behind it.” She still commended Kotani for coming up with such an emotional storyline – she knew that she couldn’t have done so in a million years.

“Wow. It sounds really bittersweet.”

“It is,” agreed Harry, amused again by his obvious interest. “So are you a closet manga fan or something?”

Takuma smiled as he passed the drawings back to her. “Guilty as charged. And what about you?”

“I haven’t really read many,” Harry confessed. “I can appreciate the artwork behind it, but I’ve only really read the ones that my friend has. And they were all about demons and mutants and things.”

“Ah, yes, I almost forgot about your aversion to fantasy,” said Takuma.

“It’s not an _aversion_ exactly...” Harry began to protest, before realising that Takuma was still smiling at her and that this time, it was him who was only teasing. She then couldn’t help smiling back. “Yeah, okay, maybe you’re right.”

“I guess with manga, it would be difficult to find a series without some kind of fantastical element to it,” Takuma considered. “So will you try to get yours published when it’s finished?”

“Who knows?” Harry half shrugged. “We’ll certainly try, so it’d be nice if it actually went somewhere.”

“I’ll have to buy a copy if it does,” Takuma promised.

“Hey, if I’m feeling generous, I may give you one for free,” Harry said teasingly.

Takuma smiled again, shifting the books in his arms. “Alright. I’ll hold you to that.”

Harry’s gaze trailed down towards the books that he was carrying. “So are you returning books or checking more out?”

“Returning some,” said Takuma, still smiling. “I’ve been naughtily holding onto these, when I know it’ll probably take me a long time to get round to them.”

“You seem to have a habit of doing that,” Harry mused. Poor Hamlet had met a similar fate.

“One I’m trying to kick,” Takuma chuckled. “It seems I get too greedy when it comes to books.”

“I know that feeling,” said Harry sympathetically. “You saw how many I checked out before – it was a two-person job to carry them all.”

Takuma laughed again. “I did. I hope Hamlet hasn’t been neglected because of it, like what I did?”

“No, Hamlet’s definitely been given priority,” Harry replied with a grin. “But since he’s special, he gets to be savoured a bit more than most. I’m taking extra care not to read too much at once.”

Takuma’s smile widened. “In that case, I’m glad. It sounds like you’re enjoying it.” He glanced up at the clock on the wall opposite and his eyes suddenly widened in surprise. “Oh, my... I’m sorry, Harry, but I’m going to have to hurry and return these or I’ll be late for class.”

Bewildered, Harry looked round at the clock too. “Whoa, is that really the time?” The Night Class lessons were indeed about to start. They’d been talking for ages.

Takuma jogged the books in his arms. “Silly me... We clearly got carried away. I’m sorry I disturbed you for so long.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Harry assured him sincerely. She realised that she really did enjoy talking to him. “I hope you make your class on time.”

“Me too,” Takuma laughed, heading towards the librarian’s desk as he called back over his shoulder, “Hopefully I’ll see you around again.”

Harry watched in amusement as he went and clumsily tipped the stack of books onto the front desk. She’d never quite noticed before how scatterbrained he seemed. The librarian didn’t look very impressed by his lack of organisation. In fact, she was staring at the books like they were completely alien to her.

“We don’t stock any of these here,” Harry heard her say. She hadn’t even needed to check the computer. “You’re in the wrong library.”

Harry had to try not to laugh as she watched. All of the books he was trying to return were from the other library? He was even more scatterbrained than she’d thought.

Takuma seemed completely nonplussed by the whole thing. “Oh, really? I don’t know what’s wrong with me today... I’m sorry, I’ll take them back to the Night Class library. Thank you.”

And with that, he headed back out with all of the books in his arms again. Harry was still chortling to herself even long after he’d left. He really was an odd soul. She found it hard to concentrate on her drawings after that, however, and eventually ended up packing her things away and leaving herself.

She bumped into Yoko on her way out. “Oh, hey,” she greeted. “I was just on my way back to the dorm.”

“Me too,” Yoko replied brightly. “I just went and asked Mr. Miyamoto if he knew what questions were going to be on the practice test. He wouldn’t tell me though.”

“Typical,” said Harry, making a face. Mr. Miyamoto was their math teacher. Math wasn’t either of their strong suits, no matter how hard they tried to study for it.

As they headed back towards the Sun dormitories together, Harry spotted Kara again. She was walking in the same direction as them. “Hey, Kara!” she called, waving her over.

Kara’s head turned and she waved back when she saw Harry, jogging over to her and Yoko. “Oh, hi again!”

“Sorry you got kicked out of the library earlier,” Harry said hesitantly. She wasn’t really sure why she was apologising, but she did still feel a bit guilty that she’d been allowed to stay when Kara and her friends hadn’t.

Kara just laughed and dismissed the apology. “Don’t worry about it. That’s just Meg – that kind of thing happens all the time.”

“Oh. Good. I think...” said Harry uncertainly. “Anyway, I just wanted to introduce you to my roommate, Yoko Ohayashi. Yoko, this is Kara Tsukiyama.”

Yoko shook the other girl’s hand enthusiastically. “Nice to meet you.”

“You too,” Kara replied. “I think we’re actually in the same Chemistry class.” She recalled seeing the smaller girl’s bouncy black hair bobbing up and down in the front row of their classroom.

“Oh, yeah, that’s right!”

The three of them carried on chatting as they continued back towards the dorms with the sun beginning to set in the sky above them. They passed two other Day Class girls on the way, both of whom glared at them as they walked by. Harry recognised them from the library earlier – they were some of the ones who had left after Kara and her friends.

“So, um, do all the girls here like that Aido guy from the Night Class?” Harry asked, remembering what Takuma had suggested earlier.

She could also recall how crazy the girls had all acted on her first day here upon seeing the Night Class students. They’d been glaring at her back then, after Hanabusa had helped pick her up off the floor. She felt like she was starting to understand some of it a little better now.

“Could you tell?” said Kara gloomily. “It’s almost impossible to get noticed by any of the Night Class guys when there’s so much competition. Especially with Aido.”

Harry had never thought about it like that before. “But he came all the way down to the library to check on you,” she pointed out. She was by no means an expert on this kind of thing, but surely that was a good sign. “So he clearly has noticed you.”

Kara looked suddenly surprised by Harry’s theory. “Erm, I guess, but... I don’t think it was like that.” She looked a little sheepish about something.

“So you’re an Aido fan then?” Yoko asked Kara, almost sympathetically.

“Yup. Like practically every other girl in this school.”

“He is pretty cute,” Yoko agreed. She then laughed, seeing the look on Kara’s face. “Oh, don’t worry; I’m not actually interested in him or anything. I definitely wouldn’t be interested in the competition.”

“What exactly do you like about him?” asked Harry. Both girls looked at her and she realised straightaway that the way she’d worded it probably sounded offensive. “I mean... I didn’t intend to sound rude or anything. I’m just curious why so many girls seem to like him so much.”

“It’s his eyes,” said Kara suddenly without needing any prompting, her voice taking on a dreamy edge. “I feel like I could get lost in them... Don’t you think they’re just the most wonderful shade of blue?”

Yoko looked amused by Kara’s reaction – she sounded like she was writing a poem – whereas Harry just felt clueless again. “Um, I don't know... Personally, I prefer green.”

Kara snapped back to attention at that. “ _Oh_?” Green eyes, huh?

Yoko joined in too, grinning. “And what do you mean by that?”

“What do I mean by what?” Harry was completely nonplussed. “I just mean I like green. I’m not really a blue person.”

Yoko started laughing and Kara just stared at Harry in amazement. Was she for real? Could she seriously not tell what they were talking about? She’d already been able to tell that the girl was pretty clueless when it came to guys, but this just took the cake.

Yoko clapped a hand on Kara’s shoulder. “I figured she’d say something like that. Don’t worry; that’s just Harry for you.” She may have only been rooming with Harry for a few weeks, but it was pretty easy to tell where the blonde girl stood on romance.

“Did she really not get what we were implying?” Kara asked the smaller girl.

“Hey, don’t talk about me like I’m not here,” Harry protested huffily, causing them both to laugh more. “And stop laughing at me!”

“We’re not laughing at you; we’re laughing with you,” Yoko insisted, looping her arm through Harry’s.

“Yeah, don’t worry. We’ll help you out with these things,” Kara assured her teasingly, taking her other arm.

“Yep. We’ll teach you the ways of the world.”

“All about the birds and the bees.”

“Huh? What does that have to do with anything?”

“Oh, Harry, we have so much to teach you.”


	5. Darkness in the Valley

A figure in black stood tall in the doorway. His image seemed to flicker as he stepped inside, like a badly programmed television screen. One moment, he was still framed by the doorway, then he was suddenly standing two feet to his left, then back again.

The outline flickered again and suddenly the figure was right in front of her, eyes flashing red and mouth opening to reveal dripping, pointed teeth...

Harry gasped and abruptly sat up, breathing hard. There was sweat on her forehead. _It was just a dream_ , she automatically tried to tell herself. _You're only in your dorm room_. But it was hard to believe when every shadow around her looked threatening and ominous.

She reached back, hand scrambling for her bedside lamp. She found the switch and a dull light was thrown across the room - too bright for her still sleepy eyes, but proving that there really wasn't anything hiding in the shadows.

Harry sighed and pulled her knees up towards her, resting her chin on them. Just a dream. Another one of _those_ dreams. Like most kids, she'd feared ghosts and demons and the monsters under her bed. Only most kids probably still didn't have the same recurring nightmares when they were much older.

She hugged her knees tighter, half wishing that she'd brought one of her old stuffed animals with her to the academy. She knew she was too old to rely on them now, but she liked having something to hold onto in the night. A pillar of comfort in the darkness.

"What's going on? Are you alright?"

Harry jumped and turned to see Yoko sitting up in bed too. She'd completely forgotten that she wasn't the only person in the room. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up. I just had a nightmare, that's all."

"Don't worry about it," Yoko reassured her. She looked concerned. "Are you sure you're alright? You look pretty freaked out."

"Yeah, I'm fine." Harry forced a smile. "I used to have nightmares quite often - I just haven't had one in a while."

"You can leave the lamp on if you like," Yoko suggested sympathetically.

"Oh, no, I'll be alright," said Harry automatically. She'd slept with the light on plenty of times in the past, but she could hardly expect her roommate to have to do the same.

"It's fine, really," Yoko insisted with a smile. "My sister used to sleep with the light on sometimes, so I'm used to it."

Harry had to admit that it did sound preferable. She wasn't a big fan of the dark. She normally didn't mind so much when she knew that she wasn't alone, but her nightmare had brought some of her old fear back and left her feeling more edgy than usual.

"Thanks," she said gratefully. "Feel free to turn it off though if it starts to bother you."

Yoko just laughed as she lay back down. "Don't worry about it," she repeated.

Harry did the same and purposely turned so that she was facing the lamp. She was loathed to fall asleep again, not wanting to fall back into the same nightmare - a conundrum she'd faced many times when she was younger - and it was a long time before she eventually gave in to the tiredness weighing down on her eyelids.

_"Daddy! Daddy!"_

_The door flew open and light filled the room. "Harry! What is it?"_

_"There was a monster in my room!"_

_The room was clearly empty. "There's nobody here. You were just dreaming."_

_"But he was stood right there in the doorway!"_

_"Harry, the door was closed when I came in. It's been closed all night."_

_"But he was there! I saw him - he was coming to get me!"_

_The bed creaked and sank in the middle as he sat down and pulled her into his arms. "It was just a nightmare. Don't worry; he's not going to get you."_

_"How do you know?"_

_"Because daddy won't let anyone hurt you."_

_"Promise?"_

_A chuckle. "Promise. Now what made you think it was a monster?"_

_"He had red eyes and scary teeth."_

_"Just because someone looks scary doesn't make them a monster. Maybe he just really needed a good dentist."_

_"Mommy says monsters don't exist..."_

_"Mommy just doesn't want you to worry. There are lots of different kinds of monsters, but you can't always tell who the bad ones are."_

_"So monsters do exist?"_

_"I'm just saying you shouldn't be so scared of things just because you don't understand them. You've gotta give the monsters a chance too."_

_"But what if they try to eat me?"_

_"Well... then that's when daddy's allowed to come and get them for you."_

**XXX**

Harry didn't sleep much after her nightmare. She felt like she'd only just drifted off when her alarm starting beeping. Urgh. She got up and dressed herself in a zombie-like trance. Being so tired made it difficult to do the buttons up properly on her uniform. It then made it even more awkward to get her contacts in.

"Shoot," she muttered, as the contact lens that she was trying to put in slipped and fell from her fingertip. Where had it gone? She inspected the sink that she was standing over, but couldn't see it anywhere. It must have fallen to the floor. "Aw, man..."

"Err, Harry? Are you okay?" Yoko tentatively pushed at the bathroom door that her roommate had left ajar to find the blonde crouching on the floor. "What are you doing?"

"I dropped one of my contacts," explained Harry, still searching the floor.

"Oh, I never knew you wore contacts. Here, I'll help you look," Yoko offered, getting down onto her knees beside her.

With her much keener - and less tired - eyesight, Yoko was able to find the almost invisible contact lens on the tiled floor. Worried of damaging it, she pointed it out to Harry and let her pick it up herself.

"Thanks a lot," said Harry gratefully. "I think I would have been down here for ages otherwise."

"No problem," Yoko smiled. She then got a good look at Harry's eyes. "Wow, your eye's a really different colour without it."

The one eye that Harry had been struggling to get the contact lens into was a much paler blue, almost like a husky's eyes. Harry was grateful she'd already managed to put the other contact in first. "Err, yeah. They had the coloured ones on discount, so they were cheaper than clear ones, but they didn't have any my shade."

"That's a shame," said Yoko. "It's such a pretty colour."

"Oh, err, thanks," said Harry awkwardly. She diverted her attention by washing the rogue contact in her lens cleaning solution. She really hoped it hadn't picked up too much muck from its venture to the floor.

"Um, should you really wear it if it's been on the floor?" Yoko asked uncertainly. "Haven't you got any glasses you can wear as a backup?"

"Nope. I only have these," replied Harry. That wasn't technically a lie - she didn't have glasses since she didn't actually need them. "It should be okay though, as long as I make sure I clean it enough."

"Oh, okay. But you may wanna hurry because classes start in ten minutes," Yoko pointed out helpfully.

"Oh, great..."

Harry sent Yoko on ahead whilst she carried on trying to fit the troublesome contact into her tired and now rather sore eye. She eventually succeeded, but was then forced to run to her first class and even then, she was still a few minutes late. Thankfully, their teacher was too, so her unusual tardiness went unnoticed.

As the morning went on, Harry started to worry if she'd cleaned the contact lens thoroughly enough. Her eye was becoming more and more irritated and she was worried that there could be dirt in it. You had to be extremely careful with contacts and - even though she'd tried cleaning it as best as she could - dropping it on the floor wasn't exactly careful.

She was loathed to rub her eye for fear of making it worse, so she kept blinking the eye in question furiously in the hope of dislodging any dirt. She noticed that one of the Day Class boys, who was sat opposite, was staring at her. Cringing, she looked away. She probably looked like an idiot with her erratic blinking.

As she turned her head, she realised that Yoko was watching her with an astonished look on her face. "What?" asked Harry, confused.

"Oh, nothing," replied Yoko, her expression now unreadable.

Not knowing what else to think about it, Harry attempted to return her attention to what the teacher was saying, still trying to ignore the painful sensation in her eye. She couldn't wait for the chance to get back to her dorm. She could hardly pop the contact out in the middle of class, especially without the right cleaning solution.

They had a five-minute gap between each lesson in order to give them time to get to their next classroom. As they filed out of their math room, Harry was seriously considering making a dash back to their dormitory to try and sort her contact out, but she knew that it would take longer than five minutes and she doubted that she'd be so lucky if she was late for another lesson.

"Hey, Harima!"

Harry turned to see the Day Class boy who'd been staring at her earlier hurrying over to them. "Oh, hi, err..." She realised then that she didn't actually know his name, so she awkwardly bypassed that part. "What's up?"

"Err, well, I was just thinking... You're pretty smart, right?" said the boy nervously.

"Um, okay?" Harry wasn't really sure how to answer that. 'Smart' wasn't really the most specific definition - it could mean lots of things.

"Well, I just... What I mean is math's kinda hard, y'know? So I was wondering if maybe - if you're not too busy or anything... maybe you wouldn't mind tutoring me?" he suggested hesitantly.

Harry was confused. Why was he asking her? Their teacher had posted their scores from the last test up on the board. Hers had been abysmal. She'd been second bottom of the entire class. She was the one who could do with being tutored.

"Um, I don't know if you've mixed me up with someone else or something, but math really isn't one of my strong suits," she told him. "You should ask someone else to tutor you."

The boy looked totally surprised by her answer, which just confused Harry even more. Surely he wouldn't be happy if she'd agreed to it and then he'd found out that her math skills were even worse than his. Weirdly, he looked towards Yoko for help.

"Err, Yoko's kinda in the same boat as me when it comes to math," Harry added helpfully. "Maybe you could try asking Aizawa. He got the highest score on our last test - he'd probably be your best bet."

The boy didn't know what else to say to that. "Um, okay, thanks..." he mumbled. He then traipsed off, looking dejected.

As soon as he was out of sight, Yoko suddenly burst into peals of laughter. "Oh god, that was so funny - the look on his face!" She managed to control herself. "But I thought you liked him! Are you playing hard to get or something? Because I think that was overkill."

"What? Hang on... _What_?" Harry struggled to process everything her roommate had just said, as they started walking towards their next class. "What are you talking about? I've never even spoken to him before - I can't really say I have much of an opinion on him."

"So why were you winking at him in class? Come on, you can't blame the poor guy if you were giving him mixed signals."

Harry gaped at her, realising what she meant. "No, no, no! I wasn't winking at him!"

"But I saw you!"

" _No_ , it was my contact! I don't think I cleaned it enough - it's been bugging me all morning!"

Yoko stared at her, a look of dawning on her face, before she started laughing again. "No way, are you serious? Oh, man, that poor boy!"

Harry still felt like she was missing something. "What does it matter? He only wanted me to tutor him - I'm sure he can find someone else. And I still don't get why he asked me of all people... I suck at math."

Yoko just gave her a very pointed look. "You do realise he was trying to ask you out, right?"

" _Huh_?" Harry stopped dead in her tracks, bewildered. "Then why was he going on about needing a math tutor?"

"Because it was a line!" Yoko pointed out. "He was just using it as an excuse to see you outside of class. Have you seriously never heard of that before?"

"I can honestly say that nobody's ever tried to ask me out in my life," said Harry truthfully, quite relieved by the idea. Yoko had just made it even more clear that she had no clue when it came to this kind of thing.

"That you know of," Yoko giggled. "Who knows how many guys you've accidentally rejected in the past."

"Oh, come on, I didn't mean to!" Harry protested.

But Yoko refused to let her forget about it all morning. She found the whole thing hilarious. Harry's contact continued to bug her too, but this time, she decided she was better off just putting up with it. She certainly didn't want anyone else to get the wrong idea. Oh, but come on, would she seriously ever _wink_ at anyone?

She was endlessly grateful when lunch eventually rolled round and dashed straight off to the Sun dorms, telling Yoko she'd meet her in the lunch hall. Yoko reassured her not to worry since she wanted to go and ask Mrs. Saitou about their History assignment first thing.

"Ah, that feels so much better," Harry sighed to herself, once she was finally able to pop the contact lens out over the sink.

She inspected it up close under the bathroom light, but there still didn't seem to be any dirt on it. Perhaps she'd just irritated her eye by trying to get it in so many times in the first place. Either way, she wasn't taking any chances - she plunged it straight into her lens cleaning solution.

Her left eye was still pretty sore and also noticeably red now that she was looking at it in the mirror. It probably wasn't a good idea to put her contact back in. Not today at least. Eyes were delicate things and hers was sore enough already.

But now she was faced with a dilemma. Which was the worst option - taking the other contact out too or just leaving the one in? She was going to have oddly matched eyes either way...

Looking into the mirror again, Harry knew what the better option was, even if it wasn't the one she wanted. It was much more obvious leaving one contact in. One eye was a dull sea blue, whereas the other was frosty sky. Hopefully, if she left them both out, then people probably wouldn't notice anything unusual as long as they didn't look too closely at her.

Sighing, Harry reluctantly took the other contact out and added it to the cleaning solution alongside its partner. At least she only had two classes this afternoon. She just had to get through the rest of lunch, keep her head down in class, then she could escape back to the dorm for the remainder of the day. That was the plan anyway.

Harry reached the lunch hall before Yoko did. She wasn't particularly hungry, as per usual, so she grabbed an apple and a salad box and went to sit at one of the only empty tables. By the time Yoko joined her, there were only fifteen minutes left of their lunch hour, so her friend was more interested in hurriedly making her way through a bread roll and a bowl of pasta than anything else. She either didn't notice anything unusual about Harry's eyes or she simply didn't mention it.

Huh. Maybe all of Harry's worrying had been for nothing. Still, she kept her head down in their afternoon classes like she'd originally intended, just in case. The same boy from earlier was also in their last class of the day, which made Harry feel even more uncomfortable now that her friend had revealed the real intent behind the boy's request.

"Do you think I should apologise?" Harry hissed to Yoko. "And explain that I just didn't understand what he meant?"

"No, you can't do that," Yoko protested.

"Why not?"

"Well, you don't actually want to go out with him, do you?"

Harry quickly shook her head. She had no experience in that area and she didn't intend to change that any time soon. "Of course not. I don't even know him."

"Then you can't tell him that you misunderstood. If he knows that's the case, then he'll probably ask you out properly," explained Yoko. "And you can't reject him twice - that'd be a bit much."

"So I should just let him think that I knew what he meant and that I was just kinda rude about it?" Harry asked, feeling confused. She wasn't sure she wanted to be thought about in that way.

"Sometimes that's the better option," said Yoko.

Wow. Harry really didn't understand boys. She'd clearly been better off when they'd just left her alone. But at least she knew to be careful not to inadvertently wink at any of them now. Still, she purposely avoided looking in the Day Class boy's direction for the rest of the lesson, just to be on the safe side. 

Overall, the afternoon didn't turn out as bad as Harry had expected, but she was still relieved when the bell rang. Now she could escape back to their dormitory and hole up there until tomorrow - when hopefully, she'd be able to get her contacts back in without any problems.

She still had two acts of Hamlet left that she could read - her savouring technique had been doing quite well - but she couldn't help but feel that she should make use of the time to get some of her homework done. She still had a whole physics paper to work on. Though she actually quite liked science, physics was the one aspect that escaped the same opinion. There were too many numbers involved. Harry didn't do numbers.

If she was going to work on her physics homework though, she was going to need a textbook to refer back to. The last time she'd picked up the question sheet, she'd decided instantly that it was stuff she didn't know the answers to and had put it straight back in her folder. She supposed she could run and pick one up from the library. If she was quick, then hopefully, she could get in and out without having to talk to anyone.

So she told Yoko she'd catch her later and then bustled down towards the library with her gaze fixed firmly on the floor. If it had worked in class, then it would work again now, right? Wrong.

She forgot to factor in the fact that she was actually in motion this time and barrelled straight into someone just as she entered the library. "Ow! Oh, I'm really sorry; I didn't see you there..." 

"That's okay. Are you alright?"

Harry realised then both that the voice was very familiar and that the hand steadying her arm was wearing the white cuff of the Night Class uniform blazer. "Yeah, I'm fine. Are you _sure_ you're not following me?"

"Well, you were the one who actually ran into me," Takuma pointed out, amused.

Harry smiled sheepishly. "Sorry about that. I wasn't looking where I was going."

"I could tell," Takuma chuckled. His brow then furrowed into a confused frown as he looked at her again. "Your eyes... They look different. Did you get contacts?"

Damn. Harry had been so distracted by having crashed into him that she'd forgotten why she hadn't been looking up in the first place. "Erm, no. I, err, normally wear contacts actually, but... I'm not... today." And now she sounded like a babbling idiot.

"Oh. That's a shame that you have to wear them - I like the natural colour," Takuma commented.

Harry felt her face colour. People seemed to keep saying that. "Oh, erm, I don't _have_ to wear them... I just, err..." Damn, what was the excuse she usually gave people for it again? All of a sudden, she couldn't seem to remember.

Takuma seemed to catch on. "You don't like the colour yourself? Why not?" He looked at her more closely and noticed that there was a single, spiked ring of brown around the iris of her right eye. "Ah, so you have partial heterochromia iridum. Is that what you don't like?"

Harry frowned to herself and looked away. She should have known that somebody would notice the one day she left her contacts out. "I just... I don't like that they don't match."

Takuma looked surprised for a second, then he suddenly chuckled again. "That's honestly what bothers you? It's really not all that noticeable. I just happen to have rather good eyesight."

Harry continued to avoid his gaze. She still wasn't convinced. "I guess you could say that I'm a perfectionist. Little things like that tend to bother me."

But that only seemed to amuse Takuma even more. "You do realise that nobody's perfect, don't you? Everyone has flaws of their own."

_That's easy for you to say_ , Harry thought to herself. She'd been starting to learn just how much most of the girls at Cross Academy worshipped the very ground that the Night Class students walked on. Who else could be as close to perfect as they were?

"In fact, I'll let you in on a little secret," Takuma continued, putting a slender finger to his lips and leaning in a little closer. "Everyone tells me that I'm too nice."

Harry suddenly snorted with laughter. "Yeah, that's clearly a terrible thing. I'd hardly call that a significant flaw."

"You'd be surprised - a lot of people take advantage of it," Takuma laughed. His smile then turned sheepish. "And I, err, couldn't actually think of another flaw..."

"Clearly not modesty," said Harry wryly, though she was smiling too. "Maybe that you're a little scatterbrained would work better."

"Err... You think I'm scatterbrained?"

Harry realised then that that was rather rude of her and that 'scatterbrained' could be easily conceived as an insult. "Oh, I'm sorry; I didn't really mean it like that!" she added hastily. "I was just thinking about when you brought all the wrong books back here the other day."

Surprise touched Takuma's eyes again, then he laughed as he realised almost immediately what she was talking about. He scratched his head, looking sheepish again. "Oh dear, I'd hoped that nobody else had overheard that."

"If it's any consolation, I think I was the only one," Harry chortled. "But don't worry; I actually thought it was kinda cute." Wait... The words surprised her as soon as she said them. Cute? When had she ever called anybody cute?

Takuma seemed quite mollified by it. He smiled. "Then that proves that flaws aren't all bad - maybe it's just in the eyes of the beholder."

Harry couldn't help but concede that he had a point. "I guess you're right."

Takuma looked amused again by that. "Well, if I'm right about one thing, it's that you should keep your contacts out. Your one eye looks a little sore - I'd say they've been giving you some trouble."

"You could say that," Harry agreed ruefully. He had no idea.

"Besides..." Takuma laid a hand on her shoulder. "Your eyes are much prettier without them."

Harry felt her face flush again. She didn't know what to say to that. "Err... Thanks..."

Takuma just gave her another smile. "Anyway, the Night Classes will be starting soon. I'll see you around, Harry."

"Oh, um, yeah. Bye."

Harry watched his retreating back as he left. Had one of the elite aristocrats really just complimented her? And on something she'd always hated about herself? Harry shook her head, feeling confused. She didn't know what to think about that. She was going to have to consult Yoko on this one. She really didn't understand boys.

Harry had gotten halfway back to the Sun dormitories before she realised that she'd completely forgotten to get the textbook that she'd gone for in the first place. _Damn it_ , she cursed herself. It looked like Takuma wasn't the only scatterbrained one after all.


	6. We Can Live Like Jack and Sally

Harry sealed the envelope shut and scrawled an address out on the front before sitting back in her seat, satisfied. She'd drawn up eight whole pages for Kotani's original manga project. She'd spent the last few hours inking them. Eight pages was more than enough to send back to him for now. Then, once she got his feedback, she could either edit whatever he requested or continue with the story.

She'd included a short letter with the pages. Most of it consisted of notes about what she'd drawn, but she'd also told him a little about how she'd been settling into her school and asked a few questions about what she'd been missing out on. That was one aspect of boarding school that she wasn't quite used to yet - she still felt very cut off from her friends and family.

Harry leant back even further in her chair, tipping it onto only two legs, and stretched her arms out. She felt all cramped up from sitting in one place for so long, but her eyes weren't tired just yet at least. This was good - she still had reading that she wanted to do. She'd been so determined to get these pages done that poor old Hamlet had been neglected once again. That wasn't exactly unusual for her. Once she got stuck into something, she did tend to forget everything else around her.

Only this time, she had to remind herself that she'd gotten hold of the copy of Hamlet more than two weeks ago now. And that on this occasion, it had actually been borrowed from somebody else.

Takuma had reassured her that she could take her time, but Harry hadn't taken that entirely to heart. It was clear as day, even to her, that Takuma was a nice guy and that he likely would have said the same thing regardless of whether he'd actually meant it or not. Harry had taken advantage of his patience for long enough. She was going to sit and finish Hamlet right now.

Thankfully, she only had one act and four scenes left to read. She had managed to find the time to get most of the reading done, even if it had been spread out over a longer period than usual. Still, by the time she'd finished, it had gotten quite late. It was already past their supposed curfew. But then that had never seemed to apply to Harry, so surely she'd be able to get away with running a quick errand, right?

She felt guilty just thinking about taking advantage of the influence her father's teaching position clearly had over her, but at the same time, she didn't want to wait. She'd already decided that she'd kept hold of Hamlet for far too long. And she'd just spent the last hour reading through the rest of it in order to give it back. She didn't really want to wait until tomorrow now. It would make all of her rushing... futile.

It wasn't like she was planning anything mischievous or particularly against the rules, she told herself. And technically, it wasn't actually wrong on any level, seeing as none of the teachers had ever warned her about there even being a curfew. Plus she wouldn't be long. She knew exactly where the Moon dorms were now, so she could just quickly seek Takuma out, give him the playwright back and there'd be no harm done to anyone.

After deliberating over the issue for ten minutes, Harry finally voiced another question she had in mind. "Do you know where we leave letters that we want mailed out?"

Yoko looked up from the homework that she'd been struggling with. "I think there's a mailbox by the front gates of the school... I'm not really sure though. I can walk down there with you tomorrow before class if you like?" The campus for Cross Academy was really quite large - the front gates were set a way away from the main school buildings.

"Thanks, but that's okay. I think I'm actually gonna go and do it now," said Harry, getting to her feet.

She'd already decided that could be her excuse. She didn't really think that anyone else would understand her desire to return the book as soon as possible now that she'd finally finished it. She just didn't like holding onto books that weren't hers for longer than necessary. Especially when she'd had Hamlet for longer than she should have done already.

Plus she figured that she could actually do as she said and post the letter and drawings to Kotani whilst she was out and about. The Night Class building was closer to the main gates than the Day Class building, so she could hurry on down there after giving the book back to Takuma. Then the only thing she'd have to worry about was the exercise sheet for math that she'd already been putting off.

Yoko raised her eyebrows. "You really wanna do that now? Why don't you just wait and post your letter tomorrow?"

"Well, I've just finished it, so I'd rather just get it out of the way," said Harry casually. The book, the letter... Same difference. "Plus knowing my luck, they'll collect the post in the morning before I've even had chance to get down there. I'm sure I heard one of the teachers say it was usually picked up on a Tuesday..."

She was banking on her friend not knowing that she'd just made that fact up. Thankfully, she didn't seem to. "Oh, maybe you're right." The smaller girl still looked slightly sceptical though. "But it's after curfew - you might get into trouble."

"Oh, it should be fine," said Harry in what she hoped was an off-hand manner. "I think I must get special treatment for it because of my dad or something, because nobody's told me off about it yet."

Her attempt at nonchalance clearly worked, because Yoko simply shrugged and returned her gaze to the textbook in front of her. "Oh, okay then. Just try to hurry back. You're still probably better off being back here before it gets dark."

"Don't worry; I'll be quick," Harry promised.

She slipped the letter under her arm, as well as the copy of Hamlet, once Yoko was safely engrossed in her homework again, before very quietly letting herself out onto the corridor. She may have been given some form of leeway that the others didn't have, but she still didn't want to draw any unnecessary attention to herself.

She power walked down to the Night Class building at a speedier pace than usual. Even though she'd told herself she wasn't doing anything wrong and that she seemed to be above the curfew rule, she'd still rather none of the teachers saw her out and about. Knowing her luck, she'd be caught by one who wouldn't know who she was and she knew she wouldn't particularly want to use the excuse of 'it's okay; my dad's a teacher'.

The campus was very quiet and Harry made it to the main Night Class building in record timing. The guard on the main doors was the same one from before and he simply nodded at her as she walked past. She was starting to think that maybe Kara had been wrong. Maybe the other Day Class girls thought they weren't allowed inside the Night Class building because they'd never really tried. Surely there wasn't really one set of rules for her and then another for everyone else.

She carried on up the first set of stairs that she and Kara had tried a few weeks ago, grateful that she now knew where the dorms were. Only when she reached the top, she realised that she had a different problem. The doors had no numbers on them and they weren't marked in any way. They were all identical. So how was she supposed to know which one was Takuma's room?

She stood awkwardly in the middle of the corridor, racking her brains and trying to remember the last time she'd ventured up here. Takuma had come out of his room when she and Kara had been talking to Hanabusa. Well, she had. Kara had just stood there like a deer in the headlights.

Harry moved slowly down the corridor, stopping in front of one of the doors. She was sure that this was the one that Hanabusa had emerged from. And if she could recall properly, Takuma had come out of a room that was a few doors back towards the stairs. So...

She paced back along the corridor until she reached one of the other doors. Theoretically, this was the right one. If she'd remembered correctly, that was. Harry hesitated outside the door. If it wasn't the right room, then it wasn't like she couldn't just apologise and ask for directions. It wasn't a huge issue or anything. So why was she suddenly feeling nervous?

Harry swallowed her anxieties and knocked on the door. She waited, but nothing happened. She reluctantly knocked again after another several long moments. Still nothing. After all that and Takuma wasn't even here.

Frowning, Harry turned away and towards the door opposite. She guessed she could just ask one of the other aristocrats to pass the book along. At least that way, she'd done what she could to return the book straightaway and wouldn't have to feel guilty about it anymore. She wondered where Takuma could be, seeing as it was after the supposed curfew.

Only then did it dawn on her. Of course! This wasn't the first time she'd known him to be out and about after curfew. Because he was from the _Night_ Class. Their schedules were completely backwards compared to hers. No wonder he wasn't in his dorm - he was likely in class right about now.

"Oh, well done, Harry," she muttered to herself. "That's quite a new level of stupidity."

Well, now what was she going to do? Had she really come all the way down here for nothing? She wondered how long the Night Class would be in classes for before their first break. Maybe she could just wait around for a little bit and see if there was any sign of anyone. The building had seemed completely quiet from what she'd seen so far, but she could always hang out in the library for a short while. And if not, then she'd just have to accept that she couldn't return Hamlet until tomorrow.

As soon as she'd even thought 'library', her feet were already taking her back downstairs. Well, that cemented that decision. It was easy to tell that libraries were one of the few places she could never grow bored of, no matter how many times she visited them. But then she could re-read books again and again without them losing any of the appeal. Boring just never came into it - as long as the books themselves weren't poor.

The library assistant looked a little surprised to see her and even grunted, "Evening," whereas he hadn't spoken two words to her before. Maybe he was trying to point out that it was too late for her to be out. He didn't say anything else, however, so maybe she was just being paranoid. Even so, Harry still hurried down one of the aisles and out of his eye line.

Once she was down amongst the classics, she forgot about everything else. She sidled up alongside the collection of Agatha Christie. She still had plenty of other books in her dorm to read before she checked anything else out, but it could never hurt to window shop and find what was going to be next on her list.

As she very slowly made her way along several of the aisles, she found a small section of Clive Cussler novels. She'd never actually read any of them before, but she knew that the author was well-cited. She picked up the one with the most flamboyantly coloured spine and began reading through the blurb on the back.

The phrase 'never judge a book by its cover' held little meaning to her. Well, when it came to actual books anyway. Of course people would pick up the books that had the most eye-grabbing appearances. It was just human nature.

The short description on the back of the cover was average at best, but Harry wasn't completely deterred. She knew from past books she'd read that even a brilliant author could fail when it came to summarising. She couldn't put her entire faith in the quality of a simple blurb. She needed more of a first-hand experience with the story itself before she could decide on that.

She plonked herself down on the floor in the middle of the aisle, opening the book in her lap. She decided to just read the first several pages - or maybe even the first chapter - so that she could see how the premise was introduced, what the writing style was like, how the dialogue flowed...

"Hey, what are you still doing here?"

Harry jumped, almost sending the book flying, and looked up. The library assistant was standing over her, looking mildly surprised to find her sitting on the floor. It was only then that Harry realised her entire body felt cramped from sitting in one position. She glanced back down at where she was holding her place in the book with her hand and saw that she'd read more than half of it. How long had she been sat here?

"I'm sorry!" she said quickly, scrambling rather ungainly to her feet. "I must have gotten carried away."

"I'll say," said the assistant gruffly, still somewhat taken aback. "I thought you must have slipped out hours ago or something - I didn't realise you were still here."

_Hours_? Oh, man, she really needed to stop doing this. "I'm really sorry," Harry apologised again. She may have been supposedly above the curfew rule, but this was pushing it a little far. She grabbed Hamlet again and hastily pushed the other book she'd been reading back onto the shelf. She'd come back for that one another time. "I'll go straight back to my dorm."

She then hurried off before the assistant could say anything else, still silently chastising herself for being such a ditz. She should have known not to open that book. She already knew how she was always getting lost amongst the pages of someone else's imagination.

As she hastily made her way downstairs, she passed several curtained windows. She stopped to pull the drapes back from one of them, her heart sinking when she saw that it was now pitch black outside. Great. She really had been here for hours. Yoko would likely be wondering where the hell she was.

She'd really overdone it this time. Now she'd have to walk back in the dark. Harry hated the dark. It had been too ingrained into her head as a child that the dark was where the monsters lurked, waiting for their victims...

"Harry?"

Harry let out an embarrassing noise that was somewhere in between a gasp and a squeak and almost toppled off the edge of the stair that she'd been standing on. A hand suddenly caught her arm and steadied her to save her from falling, but it still wasn't enough to stop her heart from pounding. Part of her wasn't entirely surprised to see who the supposed 'monster' was.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack!" she protested. She still felt a little disorientated. There had been nobody else on the stairs just a second ago. How had he gotten up here so quickly?

"What on earth are you doing here?" asked Takuma, still shocked to have found her on the stairs so late. "It's dark out - Day Class students aren't supposed to be out this late."

"I know; I'm sorry!" Harry apologised quickly. "Nobody was here; I was only going to wait for a little while... But then I went to the library and I got carried away. I had no idea..." Oh, great, now she was babbling. Since when did she ever babble? But then she wasn't exactly used to being in trouble either.

Takuma looked a little bemused by her reaction. "It's okay, you don't have to apologise to me. I was just concerned as to why you'd be out so late, especially in the Night Class building."

"Oh. I just wanted to bring this back," said Harry, holding out the copy of Hamlet. "But then you weren't here... Err, obviously."

Takuma stared at her in surprise. "You needn't have worried - you could have just returned it tomorrow. You certainly didn't need to come out this late."

Harry was feeling increasingly stupid by the minute. Why had she been so insistent on returning the book the moment she'd finished it? Takuma clearly wouldn't have minded if she'd left it until the following morning. He'd already been happy enough for her to have it this long - what was one more night? She really had been a bit ridiculous with this whole thing.

"I just felt bad for having held onto it for so long," said Harry in what she hoped was an offhand way. "I honestly didn't mean to stay out so late. I hadn't even realised it had gotten dark." She shot a rueful look at the window, even though she'd already dropped the drapes back into place.

Takuma's expression softened. "You really shouldn't have worried about it so much... Though thank you." He tucked the book under his arm. "But please, allow me to escort you back to your dormitory. You shouldn't be out on your own at this hour."

"Oh, it's fine, really. You don't have to do that," said Harry hastily, feeling awkward.

"Please, I insist," Takuma persisted. He then smiled. "Besides, what kind of vice dorm president would I be if I let a young girl walk back to her room on her own in the dark?"

Harry couldn't help but smile back. "Well, I wouldn't want to give you a bad reputation."

Takuma chuckled. "Then that settles it. Let's go."

Harry still felt a little guilty. She'd come here to do Takuma a favour, not get him to go out of his way for her yet again. But he really didn't seem to mind and she was secretly glad that she didn't have to walk across the dark campus on her own. It was difficult to worry about monsters hiding amongst the shadows with Takuma happily chattering away beside her.

"So what book did you get carried away with this time?" he asked amusedly, as they crossed the bridge between the two sections of the school campus.

"A Clive Cussler novel," Harry replied. "Inca Gold. I've never read any of his works before, but I'd always heard positive things about them. I can actually see why."

"I'm quite surprised. I wouldn't have thought they'd be to your tastes," said Takuma. "They're rather outlandish for adventure stories; even bordering on nonsensical, I'd say."

"I'm not that against anything out of the ordinary," Harry began to protest. She then realised that Takuma was just teasing her again and swiftly changed her point. "The storylines are obviously ridiculous, but they're clearly meant to be that way for comedic effect. I quite liked it. The writing style was good. I ended up reading more than half of it."

"I'm surprised you didn't check it out while you were at it," said Takuma teasingly. "You certainly read through it a lot quicker than you did with Hamlet."

"Hey, I told you; Hamlet needs to be savoured," Harry reminded him. "And I felt that I need to not neglect the other books I still have before I check anything else out."

Takuma chuckled again. "That's better than what I do. So did you enjoy Hamlet again? For the... How many times has it been?"

"I honestly couldn't tell you," said Harry with a sheepish grin. "Put it this way; that copy's in pristine condition compared to my one at home."

"That's hard to believe - this is far from pristine," Takuma laughed, pretending to inspect the copy he was carrying. "Oh, I think you left a bookmark in here..."

"A bookmark?" Harry repeated questioningly.

She never actually used bookmarks - she was usually pretty good at memorising what page number she was on. Though funnily enough, she did own quite a wide collection of them. Everyone seemed to think they'd be a good present for a bookworm. Harry had ended up sticking them all up on her bedroom wall instead.

Takuma opened the book. The letter to Kotani was sitting between two of the pages. "Oh, my letter!" Harry exclaimed. "I completely forgot - I was going to post it on my way back."

She'd stuffed it inside Hamlet whilst she'd been reading in the library and had consequently forgotten all about it. She really was being a ditz tonight. She could have gone to the mailbox whilst she'd been waiting for Takuma to return. And then she'd gone and forgotten about it altogether. What was wrong with her lately?

"I can post it for you if you like?" Takuma offered. "The mailbox is closer to the Night Class building anyway." They were already nearing the building where the Sun dormitories were.

"No, no, that's okay," said Harry awkwardly, swiping the letter from between the pages. She couldn't very well let him do another favour for her. "I can post it in the morning."

"Are you sure? I don't mind," said Takuma pleasantly.

Harry just shook her head adamantly. "It's okay; I can do it before class. Thanks though."

"That's alright," Takuma smiled. "I must say it's nice to see that someone still uses the traditional methods of communication. It seems to have gone out of fashion for the most part. It's a shame."

Harry's face brightened. "Oh, I love writing letters. It's one of the reasons I'm happy to be at a boarding school. I know people back home wouldn't want to bother with letters otherwise - now I have a reason to make them send me replies."

Takuma laughed. "One good thing about not seeing you is that I can write you letters," he quoted.

Harry smiled. "Svetlana Alliluveya. Impressive."

"You're not the only one who's well-read," Takuma replied good-humouredly.

"That certainly makes a nice change." They were at the entrance to the Sun dorms now. Harry turned to Takuma, feeling a little awkward again. "Thanks for walking me back. It was definitely a lot nicer than walking back on my own."

She meant it too. She realised that she actually really enjoyed his company. He was easy to talk to and she could actually talk about things she was passionate about without him staring blankly back at her, like how her other friends did as soon as she mentioned Charles Bukowski or Simone de Beauvoir.

Takuma simply smiled back. "It was my pleasure - I was happy to. And thanks for returning Hamlet. Though please try not to go wandering around so late on your own."

"I'll try, but I can't make any promises," Harry joked.

Takuma laughed. "I won't want to lend you anymore books if it makes you rebellious." That made Harry laugh too. Rebellious? Her? "Books may be important, but your safety is more so."

Harry was a little taken aback by that last part. Like everyone else so far, he seemed to be suggesting that Cross Academy was more dangerous than it appeared. And on top of that, he seemed to actually care.

"I'll be careful," she replied after a moment's hesitation. She didn't know what else to say to that.

Takuma seemed pleased enough. "Good. Will you be alright getting to your dorm room?"

Harry couldn't help but laugh. "Don't worry; I think I can handle that on my own. But thanks again. I'm sure I'll see you around."

"Of course," said Takuma. "Thank you too. For Hamlet _and_ for the intelligent conversation."

"Likewise," Harry grinned.

She let herself into the building, then turned and watched through the window until Takuma disappeared into the dark. She didn't wait any longer than that. She needed to get back to her dorm as soon as she could. She sure hoped that Yoko would already be asleep.

No such luck. As soon as she crept in through the door, she heard a hesitant, "Harry?" Light then filled the room as Yoko switched the bedside lamp on. She sat up in bed, looking astonished. "Are you just getting back?"

"Err..." Harry couldn't think of a plausible lie. Especially with the letter still in her hand.

Yoko spotted it too. "Hang on, you didn't even post your letter? What were you doing? It's really late!"

Harry sighed and reluctantly began to explain where she'd been, changing into her pyjamas whilst she was talking. The look on Yoko's face afterwards was incredulous. As expected, her roommate didn't understand her need to return Hamlet as soon as she'd finished it.

"So you're telling me you went to the Night Class building - and stayed there until after dark - just to return a book?"

" _Yes_ ," Harry insisted. "Look, I know I lied and I'm sorry, but it was only because I knew you'd say exactly what you just did. And I told you that I didn't mean to be out that long - I just got carried away in the library. Plus I did actually mean to post my letter... I just ended up completely forgetting about it."

Yoko shook her head. "And people say I'm dippy."

"Trust me; I think I win the award for dippiness," Harry reassured her. "Especially tonight."

"I'll agree with you there," Yoko laughed. "So Takuma Ichijo really walked you all the way back to the dorms?"

"Really," said Harry, as she climbed into her own bed.

"And he really called you intelligent? Even after tonight?" Yoko asked teasingly. Harry had been quite pleased with the 'intelligent conversation' remark and had felt the need to include it in her recount of the night's events.

"Hey, I'm not sure I like the disbelief I'm hearing there," she protested jokingly, knowing that Yoko was only teasing her.

"I'm only kidding," Yoko laughed. "But seriously... I think he likes you, y'know."

Harry felt her face colour. She had a feeling that Yoko didn't just mean 'as a person'. "Yeah, somehow, I don't think he does."

"Hey, you're blushing!" Yoko accused. "Does that mean that you like him too?"

"What? No, I don't like..."

Harry trailed off as she thought about it. Did she? She'd never really had an interest in boys before, but then Takuma was much more her type than most boys. Was that why she'd been acting so ditzy and forgetful lately? Had she really been so insistent on returning Hamlet just out of courtesy? Or was it actually because she hadn't seen Takuma around for the last couple of days?

"You do like him!" Yoko exclaimed, seeing her hesitate.

"Hey, wait, I never said that!" Harry tried to protest.

"Trust me; you don't need to. Your face already said it," Yoko grinned, making Harry blush even more. "Wait... Is this your first crush?"

"Erm..." Harry may not have been that clued up on this sort of thing, but she had a feeling that she was probably a little old to be having her first crush and shouldn't admit to it. Plus she hadn't actually said that it was a crush anyway.

Once again, Harry's hesitation was enough for Yoko to decipher the answer. "Aww, my little Harry's growing up."

"Shut up!" Harry threw one of her pillows at her. "And what do you mean, little? I'm bigger than you are."

Yoko giggled. "Metaphorically speaking, obviously."

"Wow. Even that word's bigger than you are."

"Harry! Stop changing the subject onto me." The pillow came flying back at her. "Come on, just tell me truthfully... _Do_ you like Takuma?"

Harry hesitated again. "Well, I don't know..."

"You can tell me. I promise I won't tease you," Yoko insisted. Harry raised her eyebrows at the last part. "Okay, much..."

"I'm not avoiding telling you or anything - I'm just honestly not sure," Harry admitted. "I've never really cared about that kind of stuff, so how am I meant to know?"

Yoko shook her head. "You really are hopeless. It's not supposed to be that difficult to figure out. Try imagining kissing him."

" _What_?" Harry's cheeks flooded bright red at the very thought.

"Ha! You really do like him!" Yoko exclaimed.

"Fine, maybe I do!" Harry grumbled, throwing her pillow at her again. Her face was still hot. Did Yoko have to put that image in her head?

"You don't have to be embarrassed about it - it's only natural," Yoko giggled again. "Plus the Night Class boys are gods among men, so it's definitely understandable when it comes to them."

Harry couldn't help but laugh. "So I've heard." She looked thoughtful. "So, um... do you think Takuma's cute?" Was that a weird question? Surely it was natural to want her friend's seal of approval, right?

Thankfully, Yoko didn't seem to think it was weird. "Well, yeah, all the Night Class boys are cute. Takuma's a little bookish... But I guess that suits you just fine."

Harry couldn't quite stop herself from smiling over that comment. "Yeah, it does."

"Aww, look at you. You have your own Romeo now," said Yoko happily.

"Um, not really. Romeo and Juliet's families were at war with each other and then they both end up committing suicide," Harry pointed out.

"Geez, way to kill the romance. And I was trying to make it all Shakespeare-esque just for you as well."

"It would work better if you got your facts right first," Harry teased. The pillow came back again and hit her on the side of the head.

"Stop bullying me now; I'm going to sleep," said Yoko, though she was laughing again.

"Yeah, yeah, alright then," Harry grinned, readjusting her pillows and switching the bedside lamp off between them. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight. Hope you have sweet dreams about Taku... hey! That's it; I'm keeping this pillow now!"

"Now who's the bully!"


	7. You Can Always Find Me

Satoshi looked up from his paperwork in puzzlement as somebody knocked on the door. He didn't usually get visitors at three o'clock in the morning. The Day Class students would all be in bed and the Night Class students were in class.

"It's open. Come on in," he called, still perplexed. He didn't have a class of his own to teach until the next period.

The door opened as Takuma let himself in. "Sorry to bother you, Mr. Harima..."

"Ichijo," said Satoshi, surprised. "You should be in class. It's unlike you to skip."

"It won't take long," Takuma assured him. "I just wanted to speak to you about something."

"Well, by all means, please sit down." Satoshi gestured towards the seat opposite him. He understood that it must be important for Takuma to visit him during a class session. Takuma did as he said. "Now tell me what's troubling you."

"It's about your daughter," said Takuma hesitantly.

Satoshi's eyebrows rose up into his hairline. He looked amused. "Ah, yes, I've seen that you two seem to have been getting along. Did you come to ask for my blessing?"

"Oh, no, that wasn't it!" said Takuma quickly, seemingly flustered.

"No?" Satoshi was even more curious now. "Alright then, so what's on your mind?"

Takuma turned hesitant again. "I'm not sure if you know, but Harry's already spent quite a bit of time in the Night Class building. Apparently, one of the students told her that she gets free reign due to her being your daughter. I'm not saying this to tattle - I'm just concerned that she may end up finding herself in trouble, being unaware of the dangers within the school."

"Actually, I am aware of that." Satoshi laced his fingers together and leant forward on the desk. "But I have to say that this is where our opinions differ. I don't see any danger in Harry exploring the school as she wishes."

"But, sir," Takuma protested. "You know more than most that the Night Class students have serious potential to be a danger towards others."

"Ah, see, potential is the key word there," Satoshi disagreed. "Kaien Cross has worked long and hard to prove that vampires can live peaceably among humans. He is very certain that none of his students pose a threat and I back him one hundred percent. That is why it was I, myself, who informed the guards that Harry was to be given complete clearance to anywhere within the school grounds."

Takuma gaped at him. "But you are her father. How could you be at ease, knowing that Harry is roaming free amongst a class of monsters?"

Satoshi frowned slightly. "I do wish people would stop using that term. Do you see yourself as a monster, Ichijo? Would you ever purposely inflict harm on someone?"

Takuma seemed stunned by the question. "Well, no, I..."

"Do you see any of your classmates as monsters?" Satoshi prompted.

"Of course not."

"Then there is nothing here that could possibly endanger Harry or any of the other Day Class students," Satoshi concluded, satisfied.

Takuma still wasn't convinced. "But you don't know the ins and outs of the Night Class students..." Though he would never think of any of his classmates as truly dangerous, he knew that a few individuals - Aido, in particular - didn't adhere as strictly to the rules as the rest of them did. "I just don't know why you would put your daughter at risk, rather than having her live under the same rules as everyone else in the Day Class."

Satoshi chose to answer that with a different question. "Has Harry told you much about the kind of books that she reads?"

Slightly confused by the question, Takuma replied, "Of course. It's quite the topic of conversation." When Satoshi just raised his eyebrows expectantly at him, he added, "She likes classics in particular. Shakespeare, Dickens, the Bronte sisters..."

Satoshi nodded in agreement. "And what about the books she doesn't like?"

"Well... she doesn't like fantasy very much," said Takuma, still unsure what relevance her preferences in literature held.

"Exactly." Satoshi leant back in his seat again. "Harry's always been somewhat of a control freak." He noticed Takuma's frown and added, "I don't mean that in a derogative way - that's just who she is. She prefers when things are in her power to control. She doesn't like anything that she can't understand. Anything that isn't natural in her eyes. Like anything fantastical or anything like..."

"Like vampires," Takuma finished slowly, realisation flooding through him.

"Like vampires," Satoshi repeated solemnly, understanding what Takuma must have been thinking. "Harry likes to have a good handle on life. She doesn't like not being able to understand things. Anything unnatural frightens her. It's a deep-rooted fear that I've always wanted her to overcome."

Takuma was silent for a few minutes. It had come up several times about Harry's dislike for fantasy. He'd just never realised quite how significant it was. He couldn't deny that he'd gotten quite attached to her since she'd started at the Academy. He had no gripes with any of the students - the Day Class girls had always been very pleasant to him - but Harry was very well-read, creative and could definitely hold up an intelligent conversation. She was a complete breath of fresh air in comparison.

So what was he supposed to do now that he knew that he was one of the very creatures that Harry hated? That she physically feared. And more importantly... What would happen when she found out? Would she even stand to look at him again, if she knew that he was one of the monsters?

"So you want her to socialise with vampires on her own terms first and then leave her to uncover the truth for herself," said Takuma dully. He made it a statement more than a question. It was obvious the plan that Satoshi had set into motion.

"She needs to do it under her own stead. She can't be pushed into it by anyone else - that's why I gave her the freedom of the whole school," Satoshi explained. "I have to say, it all happened much more quickly than I'd expected."

"And what happens if she does find out?" Takuma asked, uncharacteristically blunt. "You'll just leave her to it, knowing that she's surrounded by creatures that she fears?"

"Then it'll be her choice to decide whether fear will keep her from staying friends with people who have been nothing but nice to her and have never put her in danger," said Satoshi. "I know that you're judging me, Ichijo, but nobody knows my daughter like I do. Nothing I've tried has ever worked - even without her having an inkling as to the true existence of vampires. The only way she can is by being at the heart of it herself."

"You still keep saying that there's no danger," Takuma pointed out. "But what if something changes? You don't know that a Night Class student won't suddenly turn without warning. You can't predict everything."

"I don't need knowledge or predictions. I have faith in the students here," Satoshi replied confidently. "Besides, if push really came to shove, then I'm certain Harry would be able to take care of herself."

"Against a vampire?" Takuma asked sceptically.

"You haven't seen her throw a punch," Satoshi chuckled, bypassing Takuma's implication as to the inhuman strength that all vampires possessed. "Her gym class are starting judo next week - you should go and watch one day. Just remember your sun screen."

Takuma could tell from his tone that the conversation was over, whether he was happy about it or not. He grudgingly got to his feet. "Well, I hope for Harry's sake that you haven't gotten complacent about what goes on within the Night Class outside of your lessons," he said coolly. "Good night, sir."

**XXX**

Harry and Yoko spread their math work out across the table they'd commandeered in the back corner of the library. They had just under two hours left before their curfew, so they'd made a pact to work together and finish the homework that Mr. Miyamoto had assigned them before then.

Harry had suggested the library as the ideal work place, since it would be quiet at that time and they'd be able to concentrate more. But after a while, Yoko started to suspect that it wasn't the only reason behind her choice.

"What do you keep looking for?" she asked, after noticing Harry looking around the room for the sixth time.

"Err... just looking at the clock," said Harry, surprising herself with her quick thinking.

Yoko raised her eyebrows. "You're wearing a watch."

Apparently, quick didn't necessarily amount to smart. "Oh, err..."

Yoko grinned at Harry's hesitation. "Or should I be asking who you're looking for?"

"I'm not looking for anyone," Harry protested guiltily.

"Hey, Harry!"

Harry nearly jumped out of her chair at the sound of the voice behind her, making Yoko start giggling. She really wasn't helping her case here. "Oh... Hi, Kara. Hi, guys."

"Miss Harima," Meg greeted her graciously. Her gaze trailed across the table towards Yoko. "And who's your lovely friend?"

"This is my roommate, Yoko," Harry introduced.

Shiori cut across Meg before she could try anything else. "Oh, I know you. You're in the same Chemistry class as me and Kara."

"That's right," Yoko smiled. "It's... Shiori, isn't it?"

"Yeah, that's me." She and Kara helped to introduce the rest of their group. "So you guys are studying too, huh?"

"Making a team effort at our homework actually. We both suck at Math," Yoko admitted.

"Oh, I'm great at Math!" Meg insisted, giving Harry a hearty wink. "Maybe I could tutor you..."

Harry shot Yoko a startled look, who shrugged. She remembered what her friend had told her about 'tutoring' being a total line from when the boy in her own Math class had suggested something similar. But surely that wouldn't mean the same thing coming from another girl, right?

"Don't listen to a word she says," Kara advised. "She's in the bottom half of our Math class."

"You take all the fun out of everything," Meg pouted. "But no matter... How about I just sit here and learn from you two lovely ladies?"

"Oh, sure. I don't mind if you want to study here with us," said Harry, nonplussed.

"Fine with me," Yoko agreed in amusement. "We can scootch round if you all want to share our table." She wasn't sure if the brunette girl was actually hitting on Harry or just trying to wind her up. Either way, she'd picked the wrong mark. Harry clearly had no idea. As usual.

"Great!" Meg enthused. "Come on, girls, grab some chairs. We'll have to get a little cosy, so don't be shy..."

Rolling their eyes at Meg's usual antics, Kara and the rest of the group pulled some extra chairs over to join Harry and Yoko at their table. The surface was soon covered in a multitude of textbooks, papers and stationary as the girls began comparing notes and double-checking answers with each other.

They only managed about half an hour of work before attentions started to slip. Harry stared mundanely at the numbers in front of her for two full minutes without even taking them in, instead listening to the hushed chatter of Kara and her friend Danielle. The words 'blonde', 'handsome' and 'Night Class' caught her attention, but somehow, she had a feeling that they weren't thinking of the same person as her.

Meg seemed to pick up on the conversation too. "Geez Louise, you guys aren't talking about that obnoxious Aido again, are you?"

"He's not obnoxious; he just has confidence," Danielle argued, whilst Kara nodded fervently alongside of her.

Meg rolled her eyes and looked towards Yoko, who was sat opposite. "Please tell me you at least have more sense than these pair."

Yoko shrugged. "Aido's cute, but not really worth chasing. Sorry, guys," she added the last part hastily to Kara and Danielle, neither of whom seemed offended by it. If anything, they were probably both just grateful that it meant there was one less girl as competition.

"What about you, Harry?" Meg turned her playful gaze towards the girl whom she'd sat herself very close to.

"Um... I don't know?" replied Harry with something of a deer in the headlights look. She'd been trying to pull her attention back to her homework and felt that she'd partly missed the question.

"I don't think Harry's interested," Kara helpfully answered for her. She could tell that the newer girl hadn't even been following the conversation. Not to mention how naive she already seemed to be when it came to romance.

"She may not like Aido, but Harry is partial to blondes," Yoko giggled. Harry glared at her and attempted to kick her underneath the desk. "Ow! Oh, don't worry, Harry. I'm sure nearly every girl sat here is in a similar boat."

"Ah, so you have a thing for the vice dorm president, do you?" Meg caught on first.

"I knew you liked Ichijo!" Kara accused. She'd been sure there had to have been something, even in spite of Harry's general cluelessness about boys.

"Sshhh!" Harry hissed, mortified, looking around wildly to make sure that nobody else had heard.

"Relax," Shiori assured her. "Yoko's right - we're all in the same boat here. So are most girls in the school, for that matter."

After being sure that nobody else in the library was paying any attention to them, Harry did relax slightly. "So... you all like one of the boys from the Night Class too?"

"Yep!" Shiori confirmed. "Nothing to be ashamed of. I like Kain. And Kara and Danielle are Idol fans, of course."

"I'm saving myself for Shiki," the youngest girl, Rin, declared.

"And I like Kuran-senpai," smiled Juni, the girl with the glasses and bobbed hairstyle. "So you're our first Ichijo fan."

"Err, okay..." Harry wasn't quite sure what to make of that. Was that a good thing? Also, she couldn't help but notice that Meg hadn't joined in with the conversation. "So, erm, don't you like someone from the Night Class as well?"

Meg smiled widely, flashing all of her teeth. She seemed quite pleased with Harry's question. "I do, but mine's a secret." She put a finger to her lips. Seeing the uncertain look on Harry's face, she laughed and added, "Don't worry, it's not Ichijo; you can keep him. Let's just say he's not my... type."

Harry definitely didn't know what to think about that. Plus she found it quite strange how the other girls all referred to the Night Class boys by their family names. Was it weird that she addressed Takuma by his first name? But then he always called her Harry, so surely it was okay, right?

She repressed a sigh. She was beginning to wish that she and Yoko had never had that conversation the other night. If she'd stayed in her happy, oblivious little bubble, then she probably wouldn't have started over-thinking things so much.

Yoko looked up. "Speaking of the devil..."

"Hey, it's your friend, Harry," Kara giggled.

Harry glanced across the room and saw that Takuma had just walked in. He wasn't looking in their direction, so she quickly looked back down at the desk again. What was she supposed to do? It was the first time she'd seen him since he'd walked her back to her dorm. Did she just act as normal? Or should she pretend that she hadn't seen him? She didn't really want to do anything with an audience of girls who would indefinitely be watching her every move.

"I've got your back," Meg told Harry, patting her on the shoulder. She then leant back in her chair and called, "Hey, Ichijo!"

Takuma glanced in their direction and waved when he saw them, before making his way over to their table. Harry felt her face grow hot. She didn't feel she knew Meg well enough to kick her under the table like she had done with Yoko, even though the idea seemed tempting. Next time she needed to do homework, she was definitely doing it in her dorm room.

"Afternoon, ladies," Takuma greeted them pleasantly. "Did you need something?"

"We just thought we'd say hi," Meg replied innocently. "Unless you're any good at Math?"

"I can't say it's really my forte, sorry," Takuma chuckled. "I'm just here to pick up a book anyway - I have class in a few hours. See you around, girls."

And with that, he turned and continued down one of the aisles. Within seconds, he emerged with a book in his hands. Harry watched curiously from behind her hair as he took it straight to the front desk to get it checked out, then left immediately, leaving her feeling somewhat taken aback.

None of her encounters with him had ever been that fleeting before. They'd always stopped and partaken in conversation about something. But he hadn't even acknowledged her directly out of the group. He'd barely even looked at her. 

Oh, no... Did that mean that he knew? Harry realised this with horror, her face heating up again. Was that why he'd acted so aloof? Had he somehow been able to tell from the expression on her face or the way that she'd looked at him? Or had he guessed it from Meg's not-so-subtle attempt to call his attention to them? She really wished that she wasn't so dense with this sort of thing.

"Geez, he's so dang polite," Meg commented, breaking through Harry's reverie.

"And what does forte even mean?" asked Shiori.

"It's French for strong. It means something you excel at," Harry replied dully, out of habit, staring down at her textbook.

"Ah, see; a match made in heaven," Meg teased her. "Or in a dictionary."

Harry didn't really see the funny side. She still didn't get why Takuma hadn't even spoken to her. The only person he'd talked to directly was Meg. And he'd seemed like he couldn't get away quick enough. Were they now not on speaking terms for some reason? 

Yoko picked up on Harry's mood instantly and took a good guess as to what it was about. She nudged her friend gently with her elbow and said in an undertone, "Don't worry; he probably just has a lot to do before class."

Harry looked up at her in surprise, amazed at how quickly her friend had understood what she was thinking. "Oh, no, I wasn't..."

"It's okay; I still think he likes you," Yoko grinned. "Why else would he have walked you back to the dorm the other night?"

To Harry's embarrassment, Kara overheard that last part. "Wait, wait... Did you just say that he walked you back to your dorm?"

"When was this?" Juni latched on, eager for any boy gossip.

"Oh, um, the other night..." Harry replied awkwardly, not really wanting to get into it.

"She was out close to curfew, so he offered to walk her back in case she got into trouble," Yoko lied smoothly for her, sparing her friend the story of how she'd been so obsessed about giving Hamlet back. She still didn't quite get that part, but Harry shot her a grateful look.

The other girls seemed highly interested in this information. They all practically huddled in closer. "I'm so jealous - no one hardly ever gets one-on-one time with any of the Night Class boys like that!" Danielle lamented.

"So what happened? Let's have some details," Shiori urged.

Harry shrugged. "There aren't really any..."

She'd gotten excited to tell Yoko the story the other night, but with all the eyes on her right now, she just felt embarrassed. Now that she thought about it, there hadn't really been anything to have even gotten excited over. Sure, Takuma had called her intelligent, but that had only been in comparison to some of the other students. So technically, it wasn't even really a compliment, was it?

"Girl's holding out on us, I think," Meg decided with a grin.

"Actually, all this studying's just giving me a bit of a headache," Harry invented quickly. "I think I'm gonna go back to the dorm and lie down for a bit."

If any of them were suspicious, they didn't show it, which Harry was grateful for. "Proof that studying is bad for you," Shiori stated.

"Feel better," said Rin sweetly.

"I'll see you in the dorm a bit later," Yoko added.

"Thanks, guys." Harry got to her feet, sweeping the last of her stuff into her bag. "Catch you later."

She didn't know that a pair of green eyes watched her as she left. Takuma had waited just outside the library, further down the corridor, Inca Gold still clutched in his hands. He hadn't even meant to check out another book - he still had a sizeable stack of unread ones back in his own dorm room. He'd just panicked and made that up on the spot. Funnily, that was the first book he'd thought of.

Since his conversation with Satoshi, he'd been determined to keep an eye on Harry himself, still adamant that her father's plan was too reckless. Only when he'd found Harry surrounded by a group of friends, he'd felt quite silly. It wasn't like she was always wandering off on her own - she clearly had plenty of friends around her. She didn't need somebody following her around.

He felt that he'd also been unintentionally quite rude in the process. He hadn't spoken to Harry at all. He'd been so caught up with inventing an excuse, not really wanting to strike up one of their usual conversations whilst she was busy with her friends, that he hadn't even acknowledged her. And the worst part was that he was certain she'd picked up on it. She'd looked a little confused at his hasty departure. He wasn't sure what it was about this girl, but that was the last image that he wanted to give across.

So how was he supposed to rectify it? He could hardly follow her back to her dorm room - at least that was where he assumed she was going - that would definitely give off the wrong idea. And with the differences between the Day Class and Night Class schedules, it limited the amount of times that he could catch her out and about on campus. What he needed was some other way to communicate with her. 

Though maybe there was something he could do.

**XXX**

Harry did actually try to continue studying when she got back to the dormitory, but it was safe to say that her mind was elsewhere. That became apparent pretty quickly. She tried immersing herself with a book instead, but that didn't really work either, which just made her all the more frustrated with herself.

Why was she reading into this so much? It was stupid that she'd even picked up on it in the first place. It wasn't like Takuma had blanked her completely. He'd simply addressed the group as a whole. She was just weirdly jealous that he hadn't singled her out.

It was ridiculous. Not to mention it made her totally bigheaded, automatically assuming that Takuma would want to talk to her every time he saw her. Harry wasn't sure that she liked this whole first crush thing. She wondered if this was how other girls acted when it came to boys that they liked. She sincerely hoped so - she didn't want to be written off as a special case. Though if Yoko had picked up on the same thing so quickly, then maybe it hadn't just been her after all.

As if Harry had telepathically summoned her, Yoko returned to the dorm at that moment. Something crackled slightly underneath her foot as she stepped into the room. "Hey, when did this get here?"

Harry looked up from the book she'd still fervently been trying to concentrate on to see Yoko picking up a white envelope from the floor. "Oh, I don't know. It wasn't there when I got back. Is it a school notice or something?"

Yoko shrugged and crossed the room over to Harry's bed, holding it out. "Whatever it is, it has your name on it."

Harry sat up, intrigued, and set her book to one side as she took the envelope. Her name was indeed written on the front, swooping across it in fancy lettering. She unfolded the envelope and eased out the paper that was inside. Only one line was written across it.

' _One good thing about not seeing you is that I can write you letters._ '

Harry froze. She read the line again. And again. She then turned the paper over and inspected the inside of the envelope. There was nothing else - just that one line. She went back and re-read the quote a fourth time. There was absolutely no doubt who it was from. The real question was why?

Why had he left this for her? Was it to apologise for not saying anything to her at the library? Was it because he had more that he wanted to say? Or was it just something else entirely?

"So what does it say?" asked Yoko eagerly, perching on the end of Harry's bed. "Is it a love note or what?"

"I... honestly have no clue," Harry confessed, still feeling quite dazed.

Yoko couldn't help but grin at that. "What else is new?"


End file.
